CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
Well-Known Member
Over the years, I have tried almost everything; water based varnishes, oil based varnishes, thin oils, thick oils, vegetable oils, mineral oils, epoxy varnishes, polyurethane varnishes. Linseed oil, to my surprise, was the worse in that the wood becomes black and dirty and it encouraged algae growth; perhaps, linseed oil is good for internal wood but not exterior.
I was reasonably successful with thinned down epoxy resin (no polyester) which penetrated the wood sufficiently and then cured. Last season, I painted some exterior wood (used in the cockpit) with thinned down single pack polyurethane varnish; so far looks good, it appears to have achieve adequate penetration and has also formed a skin, but it still looks very natural.
The rubbing strake on my boat is the original 43 years old and I am eager the keep it going for a few more years. However, I will eventually replace it with man-made plastic wood lookalike for maintenance free.
I was reasonably successful with thinned down epoxy resin (no polyester) which penetrated the wood sufficiently and then cured. Last season, I painted some exterior wood (used in the cockpit) with thinned down single pack polyurethane varnish; so far looks good, it appears to have achieve adequate penetration and has also formed a skin, but it still looks very natural.
The rubbing strake on my boat is the original 43 years old and I am eager the keep it going for a few more years. However, I will eventually replace it with man-made plastic wood lookalike for maintenance free.