Epoxy coating wood

[Guest]

What are the pros and cons of coating wood (in particular plywood) with epoxy instead of varnish. My Centaur has two plywood panels covering the bottom of the cockpit, it was painted with alternate stripes of antislip paint and clear varnish but the varnish has all but disappeared.

I am thinking of coating the whole surface with epoxy and then painting the stripes of antislip over the top, will this be likely to work or will the movement of the wood crack the epoxy coating.

Many thanks in anticipation

John A

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[aod]

I tried coating the saloon flooring with epoxy but to be quite honest while it didn't crack it did go very dull.
If you are using it out in the cockpit remember that it degrades in sunslight and thus should be painted.

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[chippie]

I am doing a lot of repair work on my old Piver trimaran and am epoxy coating everything. I coat the whole sheets of ply on both sides with meths diluted epoxy and then coat the cut piece with full strength , paying particular attention to the edges, when fitting.
If this had been done in the first place I am sure I would have a lot less repair work to do now. A painted finish is required over it for anything that is exposed to the elements.
If your cockpit bottom is plywood well fastened to the framing there shouldnt be much movement to worry about. A glass cloth overlay should make it more durable.
Go for it!

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[ccscott49]

Great idea, but remember epoxy is not UV resistant, so will degrade very fast in the sun, it will need varnishing or painting.

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[oldsaltoz]

G'day John,

Coating the ply with an epoxy resin will not only seal it and help prevent rot but also reduce moisture, as well as make it stronger.

I have replaced the cockpit decking in a couple of boats and would not even consider replacing the ply without epoxy coating.

You should also consider a fillet around the edge of the ply, all you need is some microballons (Or fibres if you think it might move) mixed with the resin, about as thick as toothpaste is fine, the only tool you need is an old spoon, this leaves a nice radius. The end result is more secure edges and no corners to collect crud, makes for very easy cleaning.

Epoxy is not UV stable, despite any claims you may read, so it will need coating. There are many stick on non slip strips available and all manner of paints, however, a good two pot polyurethane will provide many years of protection. The best finish for any cockpit IMHO is the outdoor carpet, non slip, cool underfoot in full sun, hoses clean and not too expensive.

Hope this helps......



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[kgi]

If you do coat with epoxy try and avoid very hot days/direct sunshine, otherwise you will get outgassing, which is the expanding air in the surface of the wood will leave thousands of little bubbles on the surface,making the coating porous......keith

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[jfkal]

Never dared to raise the issue out of fear getting hammered for my stupidity. Did most of my wood work with epoxy with great result. All that expensive and time consuming varnishing had over time sort of "evaporated" (I am located in the tropics). I agree that epoxy is not UV stable but neither is varnish against all claims. 3 coats of expensive 2 pot UV RESISTANT varnish do vanish in less than three month.
So I guess we all got it wrong to call it VARNISH it actually should be spelt VANISH since this it what it does. Epoxy has arrested all the problems for me.

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[ccscott49]

The reason your two pack vanished, is you didn't put enough on! In the tropics/meddy you need at least 10 coats! I mean it!! Don't bother with two pack varnish, it's crap and difficult to get off anyway!

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