Tufnol Hatch

SteveIOW

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3 Oct 2008
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The forehach on my boat is cleverly machined from one large piece of tufnol about 25mm thick and is as old as the boat (about 46 years) .When given a scrub in comes up almost as new. However, when subjected to continual rain or sea spray there appears a water stain on the inside edges visible from within the fore cabin. It looks as though damp is passing along the cloth laminations of the tufnol though there is no sign of delamination visible inside or out. I have tried coating the exposed outside area with varnish to effect a seal but it did not take that well and soon broke down. My question is what effective finish (not paint) have members found that takes well to tufnol?
 

KevinV

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12 Oct 2021
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No experience of it on Tufnol, but plastic primer might do the trick? Try it on a piece of scrap first though, that hatch sounds irreplaceable
 

DownWest

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Not wot you are asking, but I bought a lot of Tufnol from directplasticsonline.co.uk
Maybe a UV resistant epoxy coat?

Tufnol was very common in jam cleats, back in the day. An early composite and very durable. Bit surprised if it is allowing water to seep through?
 
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