Cold weather Maintenance. Varnish/Epoxy

[Mark-1]

I want to do some varnishing in winter and some epoxying.

Are there any alternative products that won't mind the cold or any method to apply that will work? The epoxy needs to be done between tides.

Heating the can/tube is easy. Heating the area I'm applying to, less easy.

Ideas?

 

[Refueler]

Dare I suggest that its wrong time of year completely unless you can get the boat under cover and warmer ...

Varnish tends to 'bloom' and Epoxy is slow to cure - can even fail to 'grab' .... heating will only assist with initial grab ...

 

[VicS]

I want to do some varnishing in winter and some epoxying.

Are there any alternative products that won't mind the cold or any method to apply that will work? The epoxy needs to be done between tides.

Heating the can/tube is easy. Heating the area I'm applying to, less easy.

Ideas?

The manufacturers' data will tell you the minimum product and substrate temperatures for their products.
In cold conditions you also have to be aware of the dewpoint to avoid condensation on the surface

 

[Mark-1]

The manufacturers' data will tell you the minimum product and substrate temperatures for their products.
In cold conditions you also have to be aware of the dewpoint to avoid condensation on the surface

Well the manufacturer's data says "computer says no".

I was hoping (without much optimism) that the wise folk of YBW might know some tricks/alternative products.

 

[Boathook]

Don't know about varnish but epoxy needs at least 24 hours to fully cure and possibly alot more at this time of year. It's good stuff and may appear cured on the surface, but underneath is another matter.

 

[Refueler]

As far as I know - there are no magic solutions for it .....

I can tell you that when the guy was repairing my keel ... any day that temperature was down - he did not work on it. His low temp limit was 15C .. which is basically same as I consider lowest.

 

[Boathook]

As far as I know - there are no magic solutions for it .....

I can tell you that when the guy was repairing my keel ... any day that temperature was down - he did not work on it. His low temp limit was 15C .. which is basically same as I consider lowest.

I've done epoxy at 10C but left it for a week to cure. If the temperature gets to low it stops curing and resumes once warm enough. The critical bit is the initial curing for at least 12 hours.
My bow thruster is still in place after many years. I wouldn't do it again in the winter though without the boat in a heated shed!

 

[Ammonite]

I did this last year using single pack epifanes clear followed by epifanes rubbed effect. Nine coats in total keeping the boat at 15 degrees for 24 hours after each coat and it was a mission I would not like to repeat with it taking several days for each coat to dry, although the end result was excellent. If I were doing it again I would use epifanes PP extra for the base coats as the buildup is much better and you can overcoat it in 3 - 4 hours, but you'll still need to heat the boat to 15 degrees, which is pretty easy given our recent mild winters, at least in the South

 

[Mark-1]

Thanks all.

Not the answer I was hoping for, but the answer I was expecting.

 

[Poignard]

When I wanted to re-sheath my plywood coachroof using epoxy I contacted Wessex Resins Ltd, the distributors for WEST Epoxy, and asked for guidance on what would be the minimum temperature in which to do the work.

The man I spoke to said that if it's warm enough to work in a T-shirt it's OK.

Thinking about this, I'm not sure that's a very precise guide, having seen some of the fat slobs wandering around Croydon this morning in T-shirts, the better to display their shoulder to finger tip tattoos, while I was wearing a pullover and a fleece.

 

[Boathook]

When I wanted to re-sheath my plywood coachroof using epoxy I contacted Wessex Resins Ltd, the distributors for WEST Epoxy, and asked for guidance on what would be the minimum temperature in which to do the work.

The man I spoke to said that if it's warm enough to work in a T-shirt it's OK.

Thinking about this, I'm not sure that's a very precise guide, having seen some of the fat slobs wandering around Croydon this morning in T-shirts, the better to display their shoulder to finger tip tattoos, while I was wearing a pullover and a fleece.

For some that will be around freezing, especially if the work is physical.