minwax wood hardener
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minwax wood hardener
hi guys, I got my power washer going a few days ago to take off the old bottom paint on my boat, 5.5 gpm at 4000 psi will remove bottom paint good. Afterwards I noticed the planks were a little hairey looking. I happened to have some minwax wood hardener in the shop so i put it on a small area that was very rough. It is thinner than water and really soaks in. The next day I could sand the area and the rough texture went away very easily, the plank was smooth after very little sanding. Has anyone had experience with this product. If it is suiteable I would like to use it on the entire bottom. thanksTags: None -
I've not had experience with the minwax but I wonder if the fuzzy boards are a product of the power washer. -
If memory serves, this is a catalyzed polyester product, rather like a Bondo auto panel product for wood, repairing architectural moldings and sils where water last wicked into end grain and started rot. I have used some on my brother'd exterior door trim down in New Orleans. I was pleased with the results, now some five years in service. However, I am unaware of any polyester product which won't absorb water. Given your imersed application. I couldn't recommend its longevity. If the bottoms going to stay immersed in the water, you're not going to promote rot. Worse case the stuff will swell and start to fall out. Howver, if the boat lives on a trailer, this stuff might actually hold moisture against timber and cause rot.
For myself, I would use epoxy products here. Dry the area , coat the exposed wood fibers with "straight" epoxy and let it start to kick, then fill with epoxy thickened with fillers, fumed silica, phenol or glass micro balloons, talcum powder ( read a WEST booklet).
It would hold better either in the water or on a trailer.
That being said, I've seen a lot of ordinary Bondo used above the waterline in a lot of wood boats. Some repairs last, some don't. Depends on the problem and the workmanship. I think the epoxy route will have a much higher probability of success with no extra work, and only a modrerately more expense.Comment
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CPES"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do, than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain
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Is the Minwax wood hardener mixed up with a catalyst or just painted on the wood?
I have used Bondo in the past and found it may eventually swell up due to water absorbtion. If may also form a crack where it meets the wood. You can coat epoxy on the wood, cover with bondo and epoxy on top of the bondo but it is so much easier and better to replace wood with wood and epoxy.Comment
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i should elaborate a little, this is on a 44 ft. lapstrake sportfisher that is as dry as popcorn. The fuzz is a byproduct of the powerwasher. Everything below the waterline is mahogany. My primary concern was that the hardener would not allow the wood to swell on the outside, causeing an uneven uptake of moisture and all the problems with that. It is not a two part product, just a lot of thinners and something that makes the area hard, and easy to sand. Extremely easey to use and not overly expensive. It seems to be great stuff, if it doesn't cause problems.Comment
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I wouldn't expect any problems because of it. It sounds like pretty much an 'industrial strength' clear wood sealer. wood hardenerComment
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