Polyester over Epoxy - please help

[Manie B]

With the ever rising costs of epoxy i would like to know if any of our members have used polyester and glass over epoxy.

I have found that i can build / glue very well with epoxy and i can coat /paint / cover well with epoxy onto good marine grade ply wood 9mm thick = 3/8 inch.

This is basically one very good coating of epoxy onto the plywood. If i then sand the epoxy with a 80 grit paper i get a very good surface of epoxy - not exposed wood - which i am hoping to apply polyester resin and glass mat and woven.

This would make a big difference in final costs as the boat is now covered in 2 layers of polyester glass and then some fill coat??? and paint???

Photos of your build or web details would be fantastic

[alan white]

Polyester sticks best to itself. Other materials, not so well. Therefore it makes no sense to bond polyester resin to cured epoxy as the bond will not be any better than polyester to wood, which is a weak bond at best.
Epoxy layed up over roughened cured polyester will fare better. This is done frequently, in fact.
It looks like you're bonding epoxy over wood. In that case, you would be better served laying up a 100% epoxy schedule. It costs more but its lifespan will be far longer. If you are building a modern strip type construction, you are stuck with using glass in one or two layers to build tensile strength into the hull. But if you are building with plywood, consider taping omly the seams with epoxy and cloth if economy is important.
You'll have less abrasion resistance compared to glass sheathed, but there will be no seperation problems down the road.


Alan

[Landlubber]

Manie B,

Generally we do not put polyester coatings over epoxy, the polyester may not set off correctly and can delaminate at the layer. Epoxy over polyester is another thing. no worries.

Now having said that, I have used poly over epoxy, but not in critical areas, I would not recommend ever doing so.

[Manie B]

Thanks guys - the input really helps - as you know material costs pale in comparison to the labour.

I want to get the boat done and not come apart.
I love building BUT finishing is painfull.

I wil stick to epoxy, thanks