The epoxy will only cloud if it's in the sun. It's difficult to get it to lay
smooth, so for interior areas where a decent finish is wanted, additional finish
is needed. For lockers, bilges, etc. where appearance isn't important and the
sun don't shine, you can stop after a decent cooating has been achieved.
For some interior joinery, i'll sometimes pre-coat sheets of plywood before
cutting parts out. Makes finishing easier.

Mac wrote:

On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 12:23:19 -0600, Donnie Gilliland wrote:

I'm constructing a 10" tunnel hull and am at the point where I need to
seal/finish the interior of the hull before putting the decking on. The
boat is not going to be left out in the elements or used in sal****er but
will be stored indoors when not used.
My question to the group is this, can I use a good grade of spar varnish to
seal the interior or would the epoxy encapsulation be the better choice? (I
plan on using epoxy and fiberglass on the hull exterior).

Any brands of varnish or epoxy to suggest?
Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance
Don

I would not cover wood with epoxy without putting something on top of the
epoxy, because epoxy clouds slowly over time. You could, perhaps, use two
coats of epoxy with a varnish on top of that. Be sure to do a test panel
to make sure that the varnish will cure properly over the epoxy.

I have done this before. It especially works well for flat horizontal
surfaces where you can really build up the epoxy. Sometimes a blow-dryer
or hot air gun can help the epoxy flow, and help get rid of tiny bubbles.

--Mac

Solvent thin the first coat or two of epoxy for better penetration and bonding -
especially along edges, etc. Just about any solvent will work. Thin 15 - 25 % or so.
A little bit of solvent will greatly lower the viscosity.

you could also use an epoxy paint instead of an raw epoxy resin - would gain color,
less sag, more film thickness, possibly more flex. Priced about the same as the
resin to double the price.

I would even do the thinning thing if using varnish. - picked that tip up from a
custom wooden kayak maker......


regards
paul oman
progressive epoxy polymers
---------


Jim Conlin wrote:

The epoxy will only cloud if it's in the sun. It's difficult to get it to lay
smooth, so for interior areas where a decent finish is wanted, additional finish
is needed. For lockers, bilges, etc. where appearance isn't important and the
sun don't shine, you can stop after a decent cooating has been achieved.
For some interior joinery, i'll sometimes pre-coat sheets of plywood before
cutting parts out. Makes finishing easier.

Mac wrote:

On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 12:23:19 -0600, Donnie Gilliland wrote:

I'm constructing a 10" tunnel hull and am at the point where I need to
seal/finish the interior of the hull before putting the decking on. The
boat is not going to be left out in the elements or used in sal****er but
will be stored indoors when not used.
My question to the group is this, can I use a good grade of spar varnish to
seal the interior or would the epoxy encapsulation be the better choice? (I
plan on using epoxy and fiberglass on the hull exterior).

Any brands of varnish or epoxy to suggest?
Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance
Don

I would not cover wood with epoxy without putting something on top of the
epoxy, because epoxy clouds slowly over time. You could, perhaps, use two
coats of epoxy with a varnish on top of that. Be sure to do a test panel
to make sure that the varnish will cure properly over the epoxy.

I have done this before. It especially works well for flat horizontal
surfaces where you can really build up the epoxy. Sometimes a blow-dryer
or hot air gun can help the epoxy flow, and help get rid of tiny bubbles.

--Mac




--


"Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include
a free trip around the Sun every year."


============================================
PAUL OMAN Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc.
Frog Pond Hollow - 48 Wildwood Dr
Pittsfield NH 03263
10-4 Monday-Thur EST 603-435-7199
VISA/MC/Discover/Paypal

http://www.epoxyproducts.com
sign-up for free email newsletter!
============================================

I'm not sure whether thinning epoxy is such a good idea until I see lab test data on how
perneable the resultant finish id. It's certainly true that thinned epoxy is measurably
degraded in strength. You can drastically improve the spreadability of epoxy with heat-
a heat lamp or a heat gun.

Paul Oman wrote:

Solvent thin the first coat or two of epoxy for better penetration and bonding -
especially along edges, etc. Just about any solvent will work. Thin 15 - 25 % or so.
A little bit of solvent will greatly lower the viscosity.

you could also use an epoxy paint instead of an raw epoxy resin - would gain color,
less sag, more film thickness, possibly more flex. Priced about the same as the
resin to double the price.

I would even do the thinning thing if using varnish. - picked that tip up from a
custom wooden kayak maker......

regards
paul oman
progressive epoxy polymers
---------

Jim Conlin wrote:

The epoxy will only cloud if it's in the sun. It's difficult to get it to lay
smooth, so for interior areas where a decent finish is wanted, additional finish
is needed. For lockers, bilges, etc. where appearance isn't important and the
sun don't shine, you can stop after a decent cooating has been achieved.
For some interior joinery, i'll sometimes pre-coat sheets of plywood before
cutting parts out. Makes finishing easier.

Mac wrote:

On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 12:23:19 -0600, Donnie Gilliland wrote:

I'm constructing a 10" tunnel hull and am at the point where I need to
seal/finish the interior of the hull before putting the decking on. The
boat is not going to be left out in the elements or used in sal****er but
will be stored indoors when not used.
My question to the group is this, can I use a good grade of spar varnish to
seal the interior or would the epoxy encapsulation be the better choice? (I
plan on using epoxy and fiberglass on the hull exterior).

Any brands of varnish or epoxy to suggest?
Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance
Don

I would not cover wood with epoxy without putting something on top of the
epoxy, because epoxy clouds slowly over time. You could, perhaps, use two
coats of epoxy with a varnish on top of that. Be sure to do a test panel
to make sure that the varnish will cure properly over the epoxy.

I have done this before. It especially works well for flat horizontal
surfaces where you can really build up the epoxy. Sometimes a blow-dryer
or hot air gun can help the epoxy flow, and help get rid of tiny bubbles.

--Mac

--

"Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include
a free trip around the Sun every year."

============================================
PAUL OMAN Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc.
Frog Pond Hollow - 48 Wildwood Dr
Pittsfield NH 03263
10-4 Monday-Thur EST 603-435-7199
VISA/MC/Discover/Paypal

http://www.epoxyproducts.com
sign-up for free email newsletter!
============================================

Jim:

Solvent thinning the epoxy will weaken it. But a sealing coat is not structural and besides,
you are then topcoating it with unthinned epoxy. Consider the thinned epoxy to be a tie coat
or a penetrating primer - similar to CPES (look at a CPES msds). Thinning the epoxy will
help prevent it from failing/peeling on the edges of the wood where the epoxy begins.

paul oman


Jim Conlin wrote:

I'm not sure whether thinning epoxy is such a good idea until I see lab test data on how
perneable the resultant finish id. It's certainly true that thinned epoxy is measurably
degraded in strength. You can drastically improve the spreadability of epoxy with heat-
a heat lamp or a heat gun.

Paul Oman wrote:

Solvent thin the first coat or two of epoxy for better penetration and bonding -
especially along edges, etc. Just about any solvent will work. Thin 15 - 25 % or so.
A little bit of solvent will greatly lower the viscosity.

you could also use an epoxy paint instead of an raw epoxy resin - would gain color,
less sag, more film thickness, possibly more flex. Priced about the same as the
resin to double the price.

I would even do the thinning thing if using varnish. - picked that tip up from a
custom wooden kayak maker......

regards
paul oman
progressive epoxy polymers
---------

Jim Conlin wrote:

The epoxy will only cloud if it's in the sun. It's difficult to get it to lay
smooth, so for interior areas where a decent finish is wanted, additional finish
is needed. For lockers, bilges, etc. where appearance isn't important and the
sun don't shine, you can stop after a decent cooating has been achieved.
For some interior joinery, i'll sometimes pre-coat sheets of plywood before
cutting parts out. Makes finishing easier.

Mac wrote:

On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 12:23:19 -0600, Donnie Gilliland wrote:

I'm constructing a 10" tunnel hull and am at the point where I need to
seal/finish the interior of the hull before putting the decking on. The
boat is not going to be left out in the elements or used in sal****er but
will be stored indoors when not used.
My question to the group is this, can I use a good grade of spar varnish to
seal the interior or would the epoxy encapsulation be the better choice? (I
plan on using epoxy and fiberglass on the hull exterior).

Any brands of varnish or epoxy to suggest?
Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance
Don

I would not cover wood with epoxy without putting something on top of the
epoxy, because epoxy clouds slowly over time. You could, perhaps, use two
coats of epoxy with a varnish on top of that. Be sure to do a test panel
to make sure that the varnish will cure properly over the epoxy.

I have done this before. It especially works well for flat horizontal
surfaces where you can really build up the epoxy. Sometimes a blow-dryer
or hot air gun can help the epoxy flow, and help get rid of tiny bubbles.

--Mac

--

"Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include
a free trip around the Sun every year."

============================================
PAUL OMAN Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc.
Frog Pond Hollow - 48 Wildwood Dr
Pittsfield NH 03263
10-4 Monday-Thur EST 603-435-7199
VISA/MC/Discover/Paypal

http://www.epoxyproducts.com
sign-up for free email newsletter!
============================================




--


"Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include
a free trip around the Sun every year."


============================================
PAUL OMAN Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc.
Frog Pond Hollow - 48 Wildwood Dr
Pittsfield NH 03263
10-4 Monday-Thur EST 603-435-7199
VISA/MC/Discover/Paypal

http://www.epoxyproducts.com
sign-up for free email newsletter!
============================================

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 00:47:37 +0000, Paul Oman wrote:

Solvent thin the first coat or two of epoxy for better penetration and bonding -
especially along edges, etc. Just about any solvent will work. Thin 15 - 25 % or so.
A little bit of solvent will greatly lower the viscosity.

My advice to anyone attempting this is to measure the quantity of diluent
carefully, and test the resulting mixture before using it to coat anything
important. Sometimes adding solvent to epoxy will cause it not to cure
properly, and of course, the physical properties will be affected.

--Mac

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 00:47:37 +0000, Paul Oman wrote:

Solvent thin the first coat or two of epoxy for better penetration and bonding -
especially along edges, etc. Just about any solvent will work. Thin 15 - 25 % or so.
A little bit of solvent will greatly lower the viscosity.

Hmmm, to me the idea of adding solvent to epoxy doesn't sound too
good. The basic idea behind encapsulating wood in solvent free
epoxy rather than just varnish is to get a vapour-tight seal
around the wood. (Yes I know it won't be strictly vapour-tight but
it is orders of magnitude better than any varnish). Adding a solvent
may make the epoxy porous.

If you really want lower viscosity you could either buy an epoxy
that has low viscosity all by itself or you can heat it up to say
30C or so. If you for heating the epoxy you should choose a
type that has a long pot life or work with small batches.

A somewhat risky but simple alternative is to 'heat-gun' the surfaces
right after applying epoxy. Don't overdo it. There should be no smell
or fumes!

--
================================================== ==================
Martin Schöön * * * * * * * * * *"Problems worthy of attack
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * prove their worth by hitting back"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Piet Hein
================================================== ==================

I beleive System Three says you can dilute their epoxy by 5% by volume
for better penetration of the BASE coat of epoxy to seal the wood grain.
The amount you can dilute may vary by brand.

You then proceed with other coats of epoxy for lamination undiluted. I
tried this once before with using the resin as a cheap rot-fix for a
rotting window frame. It worked pretty good but took longer to cure.

What worked the best was a combination of diluting the resin, heating
the wood to be treated, and warming the epoxy. Heating the wood works
the best but is not always easy.

--
Matt
JEM Watercraft
http://www.jemwatercraft.com/


Martin Schöön wrote:
On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 00:47:37 +0000, Paul Oman wrote:


Solvent thin the first coat or two of epoxy for better penetration and bonding -
especially along edges, etc. Just about any solvent will work. Thin 15 - 25 % or so.
A little bit of solvent will greatly lower the viscosity.


Hmmm, to me the idea of adding solvent to epoxy doesn't sound too
good. The basic idea behind encapsulating wood in solvent free
epoxy rather than just varnish is to get a vapour-tight seal
around the wood. (Yes I know it won't be strictly vapour-tight but
it is orders of magnitude better than any varnish). Adding a solvent
may make the epoxy porous.

If you really want lower viscosity you could either buy an epoxy
that has low viscosity all by itself or you can heat it up to say
30C or so. If you for heating the epoxy you should choose a
type that has a long pot life or work with small batches.

A somewhat risky but simple alternative is to 'heat-gun' the surfaces
right after applying epoxy. Don't overdo it. There should be no smell
or fumes!