Gloss or varnish?

[Samurai_Dave]

I've pulled up the rotten floor in my boat (something akin to a Shetland 535) and emptied out the bilges (yuk!). Now I'm ready to put in a new floor. I've got some inch thick ply which I need to treat first. I've several tins of white gloss in the attic, would this be a suitable covering or should I use regular wood varnish?

In either case I'll put sand in the final coat and I'm probably going to put some kind of non slip rubber matting over the top.

Is it safe to use gloss on the fibreglass?

Thanks.

 

[SHUG]

Probably the most important paint on plywood is the first coat of primer. If the wood is well primed then most paints will form a good bond. Likewise use a proper primer on the fiberglass."Ordinary" may be a bit soft for marine use in a damp environment. Lets see what the others think!!

 

[TQA]

First coat of thinned epoxy with three coats on exposed edges is a good start.

Good evidence on longevity here http://www.westsystem.com/ss/wood-epoxy-longevity/