Suggestions for clear epoxy finish

[Steve Hornsby]

Hi all,

Taking a break on ROSARON for about a month and have decided to build an S&G Oarling in the meantime.

I'm using BS1088 Meranti. The outer hull will be sheathed and I would like to maintain a clear (as possible) wood look. Intention is to varnish over epoxy for UV.

If WEST, do I/should I use 207 hardener or will 205/206 suffice. Can 207 be used for filleting?

Any other suggestions welcome. I'm new to epoxy so bring em on. I was also thinking about MAS - how do their hardeners fare in the clarity department.

Thanks,

Steve

[BrianY]

This websit emight be of some interest to you. It is a test of several brands of epoxy. The guy coated a strip panel with the epoxy and fiberglass cloth, partially varnished it and then left it outside for a year. The end results are interesting

http://www.oneoceankayaks.com/Epoxyhtm/epox12m.htm

[NormMessinger]

It has been a while since I used WEST but I seem to recall that it will darken the wood a bit. Our Devlin Egret is finished bright over WEST epoxy, don't recall which hardener, and the color has held up just fine for years. The darkening was a plus.

The ocome on Prairie Islander that is finished bright over System Three Epoxy is an ugly yellow. I'm considering painting.

I will use System Three's water clear finishing epoxy on the kayak Daniel and I are building if I ever got off my lazy butt again. Ask me how I like it in a couple of months.

[B. Darrah Thomas]

I use West 207 exclusively. I get as good a quality result as I've seen anywhere else. West does yellow just a tiny bit but, overall the results stand alone. 207 has proven to me just fine as a hardener with colloidal silica for filleting & bonding. I buy & use 105/207 for all my needs for simplicity's sake.

[ 03-22-2005, 02:15 PM: Message edited by: B. Darrah Thomas ]

[chucksw]

I used West 105/207 combo for the teak trim on the cabin. The 2-3 coats epoxy darkened the wood slightly just like varnish, but the clarity is excellent. You need to follow with Varnish or 2-part polyurethane to protect from the UV. I'm very satisfied. My neighbor in the next slip is trying Bristol finish and I'm waiting to see how that works out for him.

The difficult part of the epoxy is any imperfections, dirt, water spots, etc. And the epoxy gets wet or damp, you will get white spots and need to sand it down and redo it. Also sand the epoxy between coats with 220 grit. It will look scary, but the next coat of epoxy or varnish will wet out crystal clear.
Chuck

[JimD]

If finishing bright I'd be far less concerned with the brand of epoxy and focus on the choices of top coats available for uv protection.

[plyboat]

On a small project I would use all 207 if you are going with WEST, it will work ok for filleting. AT Devlin we have used only MAS for the last 8 years or so and the "brightwork" we do with it is doing quite well. Most of the brightwork we do is wood that is not glassed. If I were to do an entire boat glass and all I would use a Slow hardener mix with no more than 25% of the mix fast hardener if faster cure time is needed because of cool temps. I agree with JimD, the topcoat is very important, must have good UV protection.
---Joel---.

[Steve Lansdowne]

After using a Raka epoxy that promised a clear finish, I varnished my whole stripper canoe with several coats for UV protection, and then it dawned on me that the varnish would yellow with time and thus turn the "clear" epoxy darker anyway, so I'm not sure how much is gained in a glassed hull by using a "clear" epoxy.

[Wild Wassa]

Originally posted by Steve Hornsby:
" ...Any other suggestions welcome."

Have you read, "Epoxy is Crap" ... Skipper? A true Classic, on this Forum.

"Thanks ... "

You are most welcome Skipper.

Warren.

[ 03-22-2005, 11:51 PM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[Steve Hornsby]

Thanks everyone,

I appreciate your assistance. Narrowing down my choices. I promise to report back on the results and provide some pics.

Steve

[TerryO]

BryanY notes a website providing comparisons between some epoxy types. This is an excellent idea, but I believe this was done a while back. Some major reformulations have been done since then, so I'm not sure I'd take this comparison as the current gospel. I'm thinking of repeating this experiment with current products and formulas and posting the results.

Also, in another thread, there's comparisons between the costs of epoxies. With petro prices going up, epoxy is going to continue to rise as it has already, but it's worth noting there are substantial differences between roughly comparable products from different firms. One thing people need to remember is to make the price comparison apples to apples, you need to look at actual volume of the container (i.e., is it a true pint?) and the mix ratio to produce the final volume. I think to be accurate we need to calculate the cost of *final volume*, not just the cost of a gallon or resin.

[paul oman]

I am in the epoxy business.

all clear epoxies will yellow in UV, some faster than others. Spar varnish over epoxy is a good way to protect the epoxy and the system is better then either one alone.

there are also other clearcoat products with uv protectors that can go over the epoxy and protect it. they are usually pricy and don't have the warm feel of varnish.

UV protectors are not added to epoxies because they are expensive (the clear ones), mess up the properties of the epoxy, and because most epoxy is painted over.

Thickeners can go into any epoxy to from a fillet thick product. It will take about 2 part thickener to one part epoxy to make. There are several thickeners you can use - fumed silica is the most common but a pain to work with. End result looks like mashed spuds. Wood flour will give you something like peanut butter color. Copper powder - like copper flashing, etc. etc.

paul oman
progressive epoxy polymers
www.epoxyproducts.com/marine.html (http://www.epoxyproducts.com/marine.html)