Mr. Know It All and CPES

[stokeswood]

CPES has some remarkable properties that don't get much notice. In Lumberdude's Kirby topic, you expressed concern about sanding through your thin ply veneer to get ALL the paint off in order to apply the CPES. I had the same concerns with my 23' (MDO) plywood May Craft Sportster utility. Truly "wooding" this boat would have destroyed the MDO anti-checking qualities, so I was left with areas of old paint that simply could not be removed without damaging the paper and plys beneath and around these tough spots. Some of this rugged old enamel had stress cracks and checks that just couldn't be sanded out, without un-fairing the surrounding areas (I didn't want to use a heat gun or paint remover on this MDO stuff.) So anyway, I sanded it all the best I could, wiped down with Xylene, slathered on the CPES, cracked a beer and waited. Within 15 minutes We Got Action, and in another 15 minutes the CPES had infiltrated every cranny in that old paint and lifted it up for easy scraping and sanding. This was, however, an unexpected and somewhat disconcerting result, so I tried it again on the most evident spots...this time with minor results. After some easy sanding and a little fill-it fairing and a little more CPES, she was ready for the Interlux. After 2 years of trailering and one winter outside, the 10' stress crack in the old unremoved enamel is invisible.

I talked to Steve Smith (the inventor of CPES) a couple of times about the phenomena of CPES seeking out and lifting bad coatings in cracked or chipped areas. He told me that a number of customers have commented on this, but the main thrust is still flexible penetration and coat-sticking qualities.

As for the bottom, well shucks...use a flexible barrier coat primer, and paint on whatever you like. If the bilge is painted "lite" with something like a 50/50 mix of enamel and Penetrol, you've got that good old moisture diffusion working for you with an almost impervious bottom and a breathing bilge.

[Mr. Know It All]

stokeswood..........Thanks for the information. Just when I think I have it all figured out, I learn something new. My real concern is the long term effect CPES will have on my small lapstrake Lyman. I plan on keeping this boat and using it for many years. Like Lumberdude I want to make it a thing of lasting beauty. An heirloom to be enjoyed for generations. Any other CPES success stories out there?
peace----> Kevin in Ohio

[Bob Cleek]

Oh, yea, everybody has seen CPES lift old paint. A little expensive for stripper, though! LOL... The penetrating solvents Smith puts in it are really aggressive. Imagine how they penetrate skin! LOL Be careful out there!

[Mr. Know It All]

Bob......Thats another consideration for me. Like I said before, I plan on keeping this boat and when it needs stripped and reclinched etc., I hope to be the one doing it. The less toxic the dust and fumes the better. CPES may help prevent rot but at what cost? Won't good maintainence do the same thing?
peace----> Kevin in Ohio

[Roger Stouff]

Where does one buy CPES? I've been reading about it here for months, but haven't used it yet.

[Mr. Know It All]

Roger......Check out this site-----> http://www.star-design.com/smithandcompany_files/smithandcompany.html
You're already past the CPES stage with your Zip I think. It has to go on bare wood. Maybe on your next project.I'm still researchig the benifits and proper use.
peace----> Kevin in Ohio

[Roger Stouff]

Thanks. I was past it, all right, when I found this site! But in the future, it might be worth a try.

[Bob Cleek]

CPES isn't any more toxic than any other epoxy based product. Just don't drink it. Apply it in a well ventilated place, like any solvent based coating. Sand it all you want... It is pretty much inert when cured, far as I know. It doesn't "prevent rot," really. Ventilation does that. What it does do is as a sealer it penetrate the wood and provide a far better surface for paint and varnish to stick to. It prevents moisture from soaking into the surface of the wood (we're talking milimeters deep) and lifting the paint or varnish. If you worry about it making you sick, better to take up knitting.

[Mr. Know It All]

Bob.......When you DON'T worry about it,thats when it makes you sick. You old timers have those really thick nose hairs going for ya that us younger guys can't rely on. :D

[stokeswood]

Actually, CPES isn't just for bare wood...
it works great as a pre-coat for the final finish.
It will not lift GOOD paint, rather it helps form a chemical bond between dissimilar paint coats like primer and 1 part poly enamel, or for that matter, between oil and water based paints. The important thing is how well the initial coat is attached to the wood. I spent a great deal of time sanding, fairing and priming before painting my boat with Brightsides white Yacht Enamel. Shortly after I was done, I concluded there were enough white boats in the world and decided to change the color to Interlux yellow. Basically, I just went over the hull with xylene and a green 3M pad. In this application, CPES goes a very long way - I used about a cup per side on this 23' boat. Oh yeah...I dropped in a little yellow Easter egg coloring so I could tell where I was at on the white paint. I got extremely good coverage with the Interlux 1 Part Polyurethane Enamel. To be honest, having never used that paint before, I don't know if the paint's that good (or) the CPES is responsible (or) a combination of both. Anyway, so far so good.

That's the good news. The bad news is: Now I think the REAL color for this boat is a very deep green - almost black. I think I saw a cruiser in Wooden Boat sometime back that was this color and they mentioned Kirby's. Anyone know if they will send out specific color charts?

Rob

[NormMessinger]

I've wondered about that application, stokeswood. Was this your deduction or did Smith himself recommend it?

--Norm

[Bob Cleek]

Kirby will send you a chip card, no problem. Their color chart is on their web site, too, but how good that is going to be for your purposes will depend on how accurate your color monitor is.