Epoxy wood treatment vs. Varnish?

[bluedragon]

The previous owner of my Halcyon 27 has taken much of external wood back to bare timber, coated it with West epoxy, then final topcoats of a UV resistant varnish. This was done about two years ago and still looks fantastic! He did not coat the washboards or locker lids, and these now look rather grey and contrast poorly with the epoxy / varnished coamings. I know there is lots of debate about leaving hardwoods in their natural state, but aesthetically I'd prefer to have that deep golden brown colour of varnished wood rather than 'weathered grey'. I could follow his lead and use the epoxy / varnish route...or try a two-stage saturant / gloss finish with a traditional varnish such as Deks Olje D1 / D2. What are the pros and cons of the two approaches, bearing in mind that the wood is 35 years old and a bit grainy?? Clearly I'll need to prepare the surface well in either case. The woods are probaby teak and / or Afromosia (that's what the builders used it seems).

 

[Joe_Cole]

I'm doing my washboards at the moment and am using epoxy as a primer, follows by polyurethane two pack as top coat. It's the most expensive on materials, but most long lasting. It gives a really deep gloss. My tiller was done a few years ago and it still looks like new. I expect (well, hope!) that the washboards will last just as well.

I prefer this approach because I am lazy and would rather do a job once, rather than every couple of years!

 

[aitchw]

| think the debate revolves around treatment of teak rather than other hardwoods. For anything other than teak I would use epoxy plus efficient UV varnish. I haven't had to face the problem of teak as yet. I don't have any!

 

[oldsaltoz]

G'day Roger,

The advantages of the epoxy primer is that it will colour the little bit of grey left after sanding and provide a very good bond for the varnish.

The other timbers that have gone off is most likely due to moisture getting in through or from behind the varnish coat, epoxy priming will reduce this.

I love the look but hate the maintenance.

Avagoodweekend..........

 

[bluedragon]

Thanks to all...I think I'll go the epoxy route. It's worked well so far on the boat.