Can you seal a wood boat with liquid rubber

I am looking into making a 13 foot wood plywood boat an wanted to know if you could seal it with something like flex seal rubber paint I've previously used it to seal riveting on an aluminum boat an wanted to know if it would work as a water proof coating for a wood boat weather than fiberglass and resin

 

The bond between rubber paint and wood is not very strong.
It might work for horizontal areas, that don't get much wear, but based on my experience, you would end up with moisture getting in, and causing wood rot, as the wood "moves".
I have used the rubber paint on canvas for waterproofing, but it broke up quickly from the continual flexing, as it has no inherent strength.

You would get a better result with an asphalt/bituminous mix. That doesn't make a great surface to walk on, or touch, as it tends to stay sticky for a long time, but the waterproofing seal is a lot better, and it has more immunity from flexing.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with good ol' quality undercoat and exterior grade paint. That is especially true for boats that are not left outdoors for a long time.

 

Chlorinated rubber paint has been used on plywood. Thin the first coat with xylene and let it gas off, subsequent coats will bond well. It is a "soft" coating, so can smudge on impact rather than fracture like a neat epoxy coating. Stinks to high heaven in application, but less messy than anything bitumen based.

 

Hmm, the question was about "liquid rubber". From what I can see, chlorinated rubber is a totally different animal.

 

While Xylene may be a thinner for chlorinated rubber paint and other coating applications, it can be extremely harmful to use.

Reprinted comments below CDC
Xylene (C8H10) is a colorless, flammable liquid with a sweet odor. Exposure to xylene can irritate the eyes, nose, skin, and throat. Xylene can also cause headaches, dizziness, confusion, loss of muscle coordination, and in high doses, death. Workers may be harmed from exposure to xylene. The level of exposure depends upon the dose, duration, and work being done.

A link to the CDC notes on it. And check out the Safety Hierarchy link
Xylene | NIOSH | CDC https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/xylene/default.html

For those that are interested
3M markets specific types of filter respirators for different VOC and other gasses. They have a table that you can look up what your are going to use and then give the applicable cartridge.
BUT while these cartridges can reduce the amount inhaled, they can allow some vapor to get through. I had been in a shop many years ago where a newbie was going to spray a diisocyanate polyurethane liquid and was using a welders filtration cartridge as a mask. My point is to match the type of vapor to the cartridge as compared to picking out a cartridge from say a Home Depot.

You might consider having it sprayed with either a polyurethane or polyurea pick up truck box liner as both of these products have an extremely high PLI (pounds per lineal inch) rating. ( a release/adhesion property) Additionally, they offer high abrasion and high strength. Home Depot and other automotive stores also sell a single or two component poly-xxxx (not sure which one) coating that you can paint on. Truck Box line coating.
Again watch the mask matching and work outdoors

The problem with any coating that completely seals all sides etc of wood, is that any moisture trapped inside can cause rot issues with the wood. If you encapsulate the wood and then run a screw through it
to hold a cleat etc, and permit water inside, the water can create rot. For the cost etc. Watson's comment, a good undercoat and overcoat
has kept many a boat floating for decades.

 

Not wishing to be picky, but chlorinated rubber is a liquid. Sounds like "liquid rubber" is a trade name for something in the US. I am merely pointing out what is known to work.

 

Sure, that makes sense
Where I live, liquid rubber is s trade name for stuff that looks like a wetsuit when it's cured.
Chlorinated Rubber features as a paint component in things like anti fouling finish, deck paint and a dozen other products.
Sounds like we need to get the op to be more concise.

 

In the U.S. a highly advertised rubbery gunk is named FlexSeal. It works in some situations but perhaps not all the ones that the advertiser claim.

Why would you want to use that stuff or its equivalent on a boat? A plywood boat will be very happy with some epoxy, which will cost less, be much easier to apply smoothly, and make a nicer finish than rubber.

 

Use loctite pl premium polyurethane construction adhesive. Mix in some sawdust to seal all holes and seams. Skim coat couple coats on whole hull using a wide knife. I know this works well as I sealed all the seams on my 37 eggharbor

 

And pl takes paint well.