The curing time is relatively long, but the adhesion to most materials is excellent. They are also used for vacuum impregnation. Epoxy resins polymerize through a chemical reaction after being mixed in the correct proportions. The hardened epoxy is duroplastic, and not affected by moderate heat or chemicals. They consist of self-polymerizing components which harden upon the addition of a catalyst.
Hardened acrylic is thermoplastic and chemically resistant.
Polyester Polyesters belong to the catalyzed system, like acrylics. Curing times are relatively short and the hardened sample is duroplastic. Depending on the number of samples and the quality required, both mounting techniques have certain advantages. Hot mounting is ideal for large numbers of samples coming to the lab successively. The resulting mounts will be of high quality, uniform size and shape, and require a short process time.