"Bill" wrote
Sorry about posting in two places but I am looking for some help on
this. Also I appoligize for the lack of political commentary in this
post but......


That's OK. You can make it up to the group later.

I am building an outrigger sailing canoe in cedar strip with a
fiberglass epoxy covering and am having issues with varnish
selection. I have used 1 part on other projects in the past but am
interested in teh possibilities of 2 part. It is aparantly harder,
chemically resistant, and lasts much longer. The problem is that it
is much more expensive.

That's not the only problem with it.

...... Is it really worth the cost

For your application, not even. I'm guessing what you want is a clear
finish over the final epoxy that will protect it from scuffs & UV.

Maxprop" wrote:
..... Poly varnishes, applied properly, are
beautiful and UV-resistant, but difficult to remove.


What he said.


Any of the three would meet your needs, especially if you have no intention
of leaving your cedar-strip canoe out in the sun indefinitely. Long oil
varnish is easy to "refresh," i.e.--sand and recoat to remove what little
oxidation forms on the surface due to UV. It can be stripped and/or sanded
down to bare wood fairly easily.

As I understand it, he's not going to have bare wood in any event.



One-part urethanes are tougher, but
probably not a lot more UV-resistant than long oil varnishes. And they are
very difficult to strip with chemical strippers or a heat gun. They can be
refreshed, but if you allow them to degrade beyond the point where
refreshing is an option, you must remove them to bare wood, and that can be
a very tough job.

Nah, a heat gun & scraper will take the stuff off, but it's a royal
PITA and everything else Max says is true in spades. Polyurethane is
for furniture, preferably furniture that doesn't get a lot of use. In
my experience it looks great for about a week but it is subject to
crazing & fogging and it cannot be touched up at all.... you gotta
take it all off and put it all back on.

Furthermore (and this is the real kicker) many polyurethane finishes
will not harden properly when laid on over epoxy. I've had this
problem before and it's very frustrating. Manufacturers act like
they've never heard it before but they've known for years. If any
urethane or poly paint/varnish doesn't specifically say that it is
compatible with epoxy primers & undercoats, DON'T put it on over
epoxy!

What you may consider is to do the last laminating over your wood with
a peel ply, then lay on another coat of epoxy with UV inhibitor. MAS &
West both make them and they are both beautiful & tough finishes. They
can be touched up at will. Should be just fine with nothing over it,
unless you're going to leave the boat lay in the sun all season. Then
you might want to put some cheap varnish over it.... it will look
yellow, but the varnish will come off before the epoxy, like a
sacrificial layer
..
Another option, one that I have used in the past and will again this
season, is some type of inexpensive exterior latex like Weatherbeater.
It ain't varnish, but it protects & seals beautifully.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King