Pratley Putty is an

epoxy putty Epoxy putty refers to a group of room-temperature-hardening substances used as space-filling adhesives. Exact compositions vary according to manufacturer and application. They are stored until used as two components of clay-like consistency. Knead ...

adhesive. It was invented in the 1960s by

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

George Montague Pratley George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

, with the assistance of chemist Frank Robinson. It is produced by adhesive manufacturer Pratley.

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. This versatile epoxy putty, originally called "Pratley Plastic Putty", was the first of its kind in the world and was used on the

Ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

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. It has also been used on a repair job for the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...

in San Francisco. In South Africa, the holes in two partially sunken ships were repaired with Pratley Putty, which can also cure under water. In 2019 Pratley Putty became a part of the SA Mint's "South African inventions" commemorative coin series, commemorating its use in space.

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

External links

South African inventions Adhesives {{SouthAfrica-stub