Chemistry:Pratley Putty
| Product type | Epoxy adhesive |
|---|---|
| Owner | Pratley, South Africa |
| Produced by | Pratley, South Africa |
| Introduced | 1960s |
| Website | Pratley Putty website |
Pratley Putty is an epoxy putty adhesive. It was invented in the 1960s by South Africa n George Montague Pratley, with the assistance of chemist Frank Robinson.[1] It is produced by adhesive manufacturer Pratley.[2]
History
According to the manufacturer's official history, "The product was developed as an insulator and also as an adhesive agent for fixing brass terminals which were located inside cast iron junction boxes". As time went by, many other uses were found for the putty, which enabled it to penetrate both the consumer, industrial, and mining markets.[2]
This versatile epoxy putty, originally called "Pratley Plastic Putty", was the first of its kind in the world and was used on the Ranger spacecraft that went to the moon in the mid 1960s. This earned the product the distinction of being the only South African product to have gone to the moon.[2][3] It has also been used on a repair job for the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. In South Africa, the holes in two partially sunken ships were repaired with Pratley Putty, which can also cure under water.[2]
In 2019 Pratley Putty became a part of the SA Mint's "South African inventions" commemorative coin series, commemorating its use in space.[4]
Related Products
Today the company also produces a fast-curing version of Pratley Putty called Pratley Quickset® Putty as well as a metallic-looking version called Pratley Steel Putty. Other products produced are epoxy, acrylic, cyanoacrylate, silicone, anaerobic and propriety hybrid adhesives.
References
- ↑ "Pratley Putty to feature in SA Mint commemorative coin series". https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/493/193244.html.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "PRATLEY ADHESIVES - HISTORY". pratleyadhesives.com.au. http://www.pratleyadhesives.com.au/history.aspx. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
- ↑ "George Pratley – Pratley Putty designer & inventor extraordinaire – South African Tourism". southafrica.net. http://www.southafrica.net/za/en/articles/entry/article-southafrica.net-george-pratley. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
- ↑ "Moon landing: SA's sticky invention honoured for holding missions together". 20 July 2019. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190720164930/https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/moon-landing-anniversary-sas-sticky-invention-honoured-for-holding-mission-together-20190720.
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