epoxy before varnish?

[TimBennet]

Traditional yacht varnish only is my vote. Its tough and flexible. Don't need epoxy.

Never use polyurethane varnish outside as its hard and brittle.

Wise words.

And if varnishing teak, don't fight the oil - go with it. Plenty of Deks Olje No1, then 2 and then traditional yacht varnish.

 

[Mavis]

I have used a fair bit of epoxy over time on different dinghy's, etc. I did use it on my wash boards and tiller. The problem with epoxy is that it is very brittle therefore on sharp corners it tends to chip off and allow water to penetrate behind and this is exactly what has happened to my wash boards and tiller. Therefore make sure you round off all the edges. Far better I believe is to give your tiller about 7 coats of Bondaseal clear (in a red tin, goes on like water and soaks right into the grain to produce a hard surface, you can put about 4 coats on in a day) and then apply Epifanes or similar varnish.

 

[Mel]

I use Eposeal 300 to good effect. This soaks into the grain readily - I apply about three or four coats - it dries in a matter of minutes, so you can apply several coats in a day. I then apply several coats of yacht varnish to provide UV protection.

 

[MikeBz]

I have used a fair bit of epoxy over time on different dinghy's, etc. I did use it on my wash boards and tiller. The problem with epoxy is that it is very brittle therefore on sharp corners it tends to chip off and allow water to penetrate behind and this is exactly what has happened to my wash boards and tiller. Therefore make sure you round off all the edges. Far better I believe is to give your tiller about 7 coats of Bondaseal clear (in a red tin, goes on like water and soaks right into the grain to produce a hard surface, you can put about 4 coats on in a day) and then apply Epifanes or similar varnish.

CPES is very thin (like water) and penetrates, it doesn't form a thick coat on the surface, so nothing to chip off. I wouldn't use a standard epoxy as a base for varnish, although there are some very accomplished boatbuilders who do and swear by it.

Mike

 

[katoosh525]

CPES is very thin (like water) and penetrates, it doesn't form a thick coat on the surface, so nothing to chip off. I wouldn't use a standard epoxy as a base for varnish, although there are some very accomplished boatbuilders who do and swear by it.

Mike

Agreed, and if you do pool some out and let it cure, it is significantly more flexible than the other alternatives as well. If you follow these instructions http://www.smithandcompany.org/varnishpriming.html it will give amazing and very resilient results.