3194: 16 Part Epoxy

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16 Part Epoxy
Some surfaces may seem difficult to glue. But if you research the materials, find tables of what adhesives work on them, and prepare your surfaces carefully, you can fail to glue them in a fun NEW way that fills your house with dangerous vapors.
Title text: Some surfaces may seem difficult to glue. But if you research the materials, find tables of what adhesives work on them, and prepare your surfaces carefully, you can fail to glue them in a fun NEW way that fills your house with dangerous vapors.

    Explanation

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    This comic refers to epoxy, a substance used for attaching other materials. Many types of epoxy are multi-part, where the components, such as resin and a hardener, are stored separately. They are mixed on use, so that the epoxy cures into a solid, binding to whatever surfaces on which it was applied. This comic presents a fictitious 16-part epoxy, with many components that are implausible or make fun of common problems people have when using epoxy in real life.

    The title text references how not all epoxies and glues work on every material, and that applying them on some can require special techniques or products. If done improperly, this can result in chemical vapors and other dangerous side effects, while also not working as a glue as intended.

    Type Real? Explanation
    Resin Yes A liquid which turns into a polymer when mixed with a hardener.
    Hardener Yes A thick liquid which is mixed with Resin to create a durable polymer which is commonly used as a glue.
    Filler Yes An optional addition to the Hardener and Resin which changes the properties of the polymer.
    Softener Yes A substance which is added to polymer to soften the polymer and increase its impact resistance.
    Rosin Yes While this looks like a joke entry, this is actually an alternative to resin which is extracted naturally rather than synthetically.
    Stuff that bonds permanently to skin and nothing else No One key annoyance with sticky substances is the difficulty of removing it when it bonds to skin. In this case, the polymer bonds solely to skin instead of anything else, making it more useful for a practical joke. Some epoxies are specifically designed for gluing skin, usually for medical purposes, but none are known to bond to skin exclusively.[actual citation needed] The most common kinds are moisture-activated, which means they will not easily bond to fully dried surfaces, where often most non-skin surfaces are dry.
    Stuff that will crack and turn white over a few days, for decorative appearance No Many older walls have a tendency to crack due to exterior stresses. In this case, Randall claims there is a type of epoxy whose sole purpose is to mimic this effect for 'decorative appearance', which would not make sense as these cracked walls are visually unappealing to many. Where deliberately wanted, these effects are not usually achieved using epoxy.
    Placebo Not in this field The Placebo Effect happens when somebody is told that something has a certain effect, when in reality there is no effect. This is commonly used in medical studies to determine whether a medication is effective, but Randall is using this term to describe the type of polymer. This makes no sense, because the polymer would need to glue things together without actually doing anything, which is impossible. Alternatively, this could refer to a component or filler that claims to serve a specific purpose, and while having no true benefit, causes the perception of benefit to the consumer (presumably causing better reviews).
    Minced Duct Tape No Mincing is the process of cutting food, usually meat, into small pieces. If duct tape is cut into small pieces, it would have no greater effect on its adhesive properties. In the UK, the word 'minced' can also mean 'made worthless'. This would also not function well.
    Acetone Fragrance No The fragrance of Acetone is very similar to that of nail polish remover and comes from a natural solvent within it. Most people consider this scent incredibly unpleasant. This would also be worthless in an epoxy set, as the fragrance would have no effect on adhesiveness.
    Powdered bar magnets No While this would still work, as each tiny piece of magnet would still become a magnet in its own right, it would be much worse than a normal bar magnet due to the random orientation of each piece.
    Polyethylvinylesteracetate No This seems like it would combine the effects of hardener and softener, which would not work.[citation needed]
    2-Polyethylvinylesteracetate No This would be exactly the same as the normal one.
    Salt and pepper to taste No Salt and Pepper are two incredibly popular condiments which are used to enhance a dish's flavor. Using this would have no effect on the Polymer.
    Blood sample from the Gorilla Glue gorillas No Gorilla Glue is a popular brand of superglue which uses Gorillas as its mascot. In this case, the blood of the Gorillas would be extracted and placed in the polymer, which would have no effect, because they're just regular gorillas that happen to carry glue everywhere.
    Stuff that bonds to every known material except yours No Another common annoyance when using a polymer is that some types do not form an adhesive bond with certain materials. In this case, the polymer would bond with every material except for the one you were using, which would cause great distress.

    Transcript

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    Standard 16-Part Epoxy

    [An epoxy applicator with a single push bar and sixteen differently-colored chambers, each labeled]

    Resin

    Hardener

    Filler

    Softener

    Rosin

    Stuff that bonds permanently to skin and nothing else

    Stuff that will turn white and crack over a few days, for decorative appearance

    Placebo

    Minced duct tape

    Acetone Fragrance

    Powdered bar magnets

    Polyethylvinylesteracetate

    2-Polyethylvinylesteracetate

    Salt and pepper to taste

    Blood sample from the Gorilla Glue gorillas

    Stuff that bonds to every known material except yours



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    Discussion

    Woah, just reloaded it and new comic! Sick... I should probably read it now. Willintendo (talk) 20:02, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

    Paint bucket fill tool strikes again. --Lycheefoxpup (talk) 20:18, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

    TABLES! TABLES! TABLES! WOOOOOO!!!!!! --DollarStoreBa'alConverse 20:21, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

    Table created. However, I am a teenager and do not work in construction, so the explanations may need some work. --DollarStoreBa'alConverse 20:56, 14 January 2026 (UTC)
    Every item in this table is real. Ask me how I know. 64.201.132.210 21:34, 14 January 2026 (UTC)
    How does the placebo work? Does it just kinda mind control you?--DollarStoreBa'alConverse 21:42, 14 January 2026 (UTC)
    Robert'); DROP TABLE Epoxy;--
    Did it work? 2001:1998:3500:42C:0:0:0:534 23:27, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

    Thought for placebo adhesive: Water between two microscope slides. It'll stick real good, but it's not really glue, more... fancy pressure physics. 142.165.161.48 22:28, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

    "Duck" tape, not "duct". Come on Randall, you know better than that. Yorkshire Pudding (talk) 00:08, 15 January 2026 (UTC)

    Both spellings are used. One is trademarked. 76.187.17.7 03:46, 15 January 2026 (UTC)

    Now I'm wondering what the properties of a powdered bar magnet would even be, if each individual piece continued to be magnetic. 2405:201:E010:1029:2C1E:1669:FA92:85DE 00:44, 15 January 2026 (UTC)

    A magnetic powder stops being diamagnetic. All the north poles clamp onto a south pole, so the magnetic fields essentially all cancel. You end up with "lump of magnetic powder", not "one big magnet" or "powder you can disperse in a liquid." Nitpicking (talk) 03:32, 15 January 2026 (UTC)

    So, the 2-poly(etc) seems to me to suggest that instead of being "-vinyl-ethyl-vinyl-ethyly-" polimerisation, with the links between both 'ethyl-like' backbone subcomponents being from opposite ends of the respective subunit carbon-pairing, it'd more likely now be considered as a polymethyl-group with a methyl (or methylene) group as the now unused onward '1-'site, hanging free of the new polychain. I'd have to check the bond-geometries, though to see if it would even work. (Ignoring the obvious problem with the made up name.) 92.23.2.208 01:44, 15 January 2026 (UTC)

    I feel like the Polyethylvinylesteracetate is a joke about how polymer names are often long and gibberish-sounding. Potatocakethrow (talk)

    Rosin is also used soldering, which might be relevant to adhesives. Soldering is used to join pipes, among other things. Nitpicking (talk) 03:32, 15 January 2026 (UTC)

    >"Rosin is also used soldering, ...to join pipes" Plumbing (pipes) soldering more often uses "acid flux" (Zinc Chloride and similar), not rosin which is used in electronics and jewelry. --PRR (talk) 05:48, 15 January 2026 (UTC)
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