Oak - Epoxy

Discussion in 'Wooden Boat Building and Restoration' started by Dusan, May 27, 2010.

  1. Dusan
    Joined: Aug 2007
    Posts: 9
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    Location: Montenegro

    Dusan Junior Member

    Hi everybody,

    Have anyone experience with West System (207) Epoxy?
    I want to protect my wooden boat (oak) with Epoxy. Are enough three coats of West and three coats of Epifanes PU Clear? What about UV rays? Must I protect it every year with new coats of varnish?

    Thank You.
    1.jpg

    2.jpg

    3.jpg
     
  2. apex1

    apex1 Guest

    West resin will probably not stick well to Oak timber! There are resins on the market for such applications with Oak and Teak!

    You MUST use a UV protecting varnish, the brand does´nt mean much. And under normal conditions in the Med. Sea it should last for 5 to 7 years before it has to be redone.

    Regards
    Richard
     
  3. alan white
    Joined: Mar 2007
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    Location: maine

    alan white Senior Member

    I believe red oak is fine with epoxy, but epoxy doesn't bond to white oak or live oak very well. That said, coating is not bonding in that ultimate strength characteristics aren't required, just that the epoxy remains stuck to the wood's surface.
    If you are simply coating brightwork, forget epoxy anyway and just do the varnish. Sealing with epoxy can be problematic if it isn't completely sealed with an epoxy back-coat. Wood can absorb water from behind and it gets trapped under the outer surface, lifting varnish or paint in some cases.
    In addition, there's nothing worse than a poorly maintained varnish job over epoxy. The sun's uv rays destroy the epoxy requiring some hellatious sanding to remove---- it turns yellow (horrid looking) besides taking the varnish with it.
    I see a lot of old stripper canoes finished bright but now neglected and essentially ruined because the varnish wasn't kept up on a regular schedule.
     
  4. apex1

    apex1 Guest

    Concur Alan..

    if only coating is required, epoxy would be wasted.

    (btw. there is no red oak in Europe)

    Regards
    Richard
     
  5. dskira

    dskira Previous Member

    You are right.
    Just for the fun of it I copied from wikipedia the list of white oak species.

     
  6. Dusan
    Joined: Aug 2007
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    Location: Montenegro

    Dusan Junior Member

    Thank you. What are your suggest?
    Oak is Quercus robur.
     
  7. Guest62110524

    Guest62110524 Previous Member

    many of mine were finished in oak
    thin the fisrt coat of epoxy half and half with epoxy OR universal thinners, light sand and build up your coats Oak particularly NA white oak is very dense, the most dense of common building timber
     
  8. Landlubber
    Joined: Jun 2007
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    Location: Brisbane

    Landlubber Senior Member

    nice work woosh, i thought that you were a metal hacker......
     
  9. Guest62110524

    Guest62110524 Previous Member

    even metal boats need finish
    My grandfather used to say Oak never stops moving, he died in 1956,
    So although my strength is metal, I was with timber from early age, but learned most off the men who worked for me in that department
    i would not choose oak again, often you take your no 1 plane to the merchant and are there hours trying find decent stick, without cracks, shakes and so on
     
  10. apex1

    apex1 Guest

    Of course. There is hardly any other oak timber on the European market. And sure not NA white oak (which is not stronger than Quercus robur)

    Do not try to apply thinned epoxy resin, thats a mad idea.
    Thinning the EP does NOT make it bond better, especially not when you use universal thinners instead of special diluents they just destroy the good properties of Epoxy. The diluent would give you the impression to stick, but that does not last long!

    But as mentioned before, just leave it. You are fine with a good varnish. The resin would be wasted. Except it is part of the building method, but your pictures show it is not.

    Regards
    Richard
     
  11. Dusan
    Joined: Aug 2007
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    Dusan Junior Member

  12. apex1

    apex1 Guest

    Nice result.

    Varnish only?
     

  13. Dusan
    Joined: Aug 2007
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    Location: Montenegro

    Dusan Junior Member

    Thank You. On photos You can see three coats of Epoxy and now I’ll put three coats of varnish.
     
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