Epoxy hardener odor
 

Why does epoxy hardener smell like rotting fish? I'm serious. Why?

It probably has something to do with that herring I taped under your desk. :D

There are many different epoxy formulas out there. 5 min epoxy smells nothing like West System. The particular one you are using may smell like rotting fish, but there are others that do not. I don't think it is by design, just coincidence.

I LOVE herring!

Hummm. I thought it was mackeral. You know, "holy mackeral that stuff stinks!" :chuckle:

Most epoxies stink because they are loaded with amines.
Amines are a specific class of organic chemicals, and almost without exception, they stink to high heaven.
Amines can range from the smell of feline urine, to reeking foot odor, to rotting fish- NONE of which are any good for building an appetite.
Now on the OTHER hand, they make for GREAT substances to leave for STINK PRANKS ! :D

The ABSOLUTE BEST stink prank I've used is to place an open bowl of frozen brocolli under the seat of your neighbor's (the one that steals beer from the fridge in your garage) (the one that uses your lawn mower and doesn't return it) pickup on a very hot day.

Bloated carcasses smell better!

Actually rotting potatoes stink far worse than rotting broccoli. The great part about the potato gag is they don't start to stink until it is too late, then the stink permeates the entire vehicle. Jam one under the drivers and passengers seat if in a hot sunny climate, they WILL rot in a couple of days. Throw a couple of slices of garlic baloney or a dead fish under there too. Spraying U.S. "Standard Bathroom Malodor" compound (yes this does exist and is the standard the US Gov't uses to determine stink levels) all over the place in most instances is enough to get the average person retching and Powr-Peukin' ! That stuff ROCKS !
The Upper-Dekker toilet trick (or the dry-docker, or the Old Faithful variations too) is another great one to pull on a beer-thievin neighbor...for those you would just have to come up with a reason to "use" (more like ABUSE) their bathroom.
Now I'm tawkin' STINK !

My wife spilled chicken juice from a leaky package in the trunk of the Volvo. :eek: OMG, I couldn't drive the car for a week! Unbelievable how nasty that was! Scrubbed and cleaned, cleaned and scrubbed. Eventually, the smell went away, but it took a LONG time. One could still get a hint of it 6 months later. It's all gone now; it's been about 12 years!
Allen

I NEVER would have suspected that potatoes could do that.