heat gun and epoxy question

[peb]

I have some varnish to remove on some veneers that are laminated with epoxy on ply wood. The veneers are about 1/4" think. If I use a heat gun to remove the varnish, do I need to worry about the epoxy over-heating under the veneer?

[Keith Wilson]

In a word, no. Wood's a good insulator. 1/4" ply doesn't get more than barely warm on the far side when stripping even fairly thick paint, and varnish comes off more easily. Just don't get carried away with the heat, and it should be fine. I've used a heat gun to strip paint and clean up epoxy drips on several glued-lapstrake hulls with no hint of damage to the glue joints.

[Bruce Hooke]

Ummm...1/4" thick wood isn't something I'd call veneer. Is that measurement really right?

[peb]

Thanks, Keith, thats what I thought.

Well, it is probably too think to be called a veneer. But it is the correct measurement.

[Mick Herron]

I have used a heat gun extensively to clean up epoxy drips from a glued lalpstrake conoe where the ply thickness was @ 1/8" (5mm?).

I saw no problems with the epoxy joints.