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Author Topic: Epoxy instead of Varnish??  (Read 5196 times)

Valor

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Epoxy instead of Varnish??
« on: January 15, 2020, 08:37:11 AM »
I just made new trim for the large oval gunwale openings for the winch handles in the cockpit and I am beginning to investigate a modern alternative to 10 coats of varnish over 2 weeks.

 I was toying with the idea of using epoxy to build up the depth and then applying 2 coats of varnish on top of the epoxy to protect it from UV. The West site states as long as the epoxy has tacked up, another coat can be applied. This would allow 3 or 4 coats of epoxy to be applied in 1 day shortening the entire project by 10 days.

My only concern is I can't use oil based stain on the wood under the epoxy, I would need to use something water based or the epoxy won't adhere to the wood.

Does anyone have any experiences with this process or any helpful tips they would like to share before I start down this road? Thanks in advance.

Michael
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Michael M

1978 Pearson 323 Hull #108.
Yanmar 3GM30F

Dolce_Vita

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Re: Epoxy instead of Varnish??
« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2020, 12:54:30 PM »
My dock neighbors tried this on all the exterior teak on their boat.  At the time I thought it was a good idea.

Alas, time did not bear that out.

Water quickly found its way under the epoxy, both at edges and at dings.  After half a season it looked terrible and they decided to strip it all and start over.  It was then that they found it is MUCH much harder to remove epoxy than varnish!!  Its been two seasons and they still dont have it all stripped and recoated!  YMMV

« Last Edit: January 16, 2020, 11:04:15 AM by Dolce_Vita »
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Alma

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Re: Epoxy instead of Varnish??
« Reply #2 on: January 15, 2020, 06:17:17 PM »
The comingbox openings are identical on many Pearsons.

I made new ones from Starboard. I almost cried over the amount of material the router ate up!

They have held up perfectly for over ten years now.

If you do use Starboard make sure it 'floats' a little since it expands and contracts more than the fiberglass- Slightly smaller screws with washers and lock nuts behind.



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Valor

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Re: Epoxy instead of Varnish??
« Reply #3 on: January 15, 2020, 06:24:33 PM »
I was going to use starboard but I wanted the character that wood brings to an older boat. Mine are much longer in total length then the actual opening. I will post a few pictures over the next few days. I will admit, the starboard makes for a really clean application.
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Michael M

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Dolce_Vita

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Re: Epoxy instead of Varnish??
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2020, 11:08:49 AM »
Years ago, a different friend tried PlasTEAK (https://www.plasteak.com/)  .

He sent them his old trim rings and they replicated them in PlasTEAK. 
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