An investigation has been undertaken of the factors controlling the rate of ingress of water into relatively small epoxy specimens. The application of a three-dimensional diffusion model, fully acknowledging that the specimen geometry controls the rate of ingress, has successfully resolved the problems of determining the diffusion characteristics-the diffusion coefficient D and the uptake M-infinity corresponding to saturation-and making theoretical predictions of the uptake M, by small specimens. On the theoretical front, simulations have been carried out to demonstrate that (1) theoretical predictions require two equations to be used to obtain correct relative uptake M-t/M-infinity values for short and long exposure times; (2) a cube of the side h is saturated faster than an infinite slate of the thickness h, and (3) determination of the D value by applying the model derived for an infinite slab to specimens of finite dimensions results in an apparent value that may grossly exceed the true diffusion coefficient. On the experimental front, suggestions are made regarding (4) elimination of a systematic error that might be introduced by single weighing of a specimen prior exposure, (5) determination of the product M-infinity D-1/2 from the gravimetry data for short exposure times, and (6) splitting this product into absolute values D and M-infinity by means of a minimization procedure. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.