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Why epoxy? What's wrong with varnish?

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adamdw
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Why epoxy? What's wrong with varnish?

Postby adamdw » Tue Sep 12, 2006 11:38 pm

Sorry for the ignorance but I need a little help in understanding why a plywood board needs epoxy coating.

Is it for strength?

Or to make a smooth, beautiful surface?

What are the real benefits?

Can I get away with just 2 coats or so of varnish onto the naked ply and if so, what's the best type?

Any thoughts at all are hugely appreciated.

crabman
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Postby crabman » Wed Sep 13, 2006 8:24 am

Course you can use varnish .You will need more than two coats to get a decent finish ,more like six plus . Epoxy is harder wearing .Used as a flow coat it can be done in one hit if done correctly . Good varnish ,two pack polyurathane . floor varnish or yacht varnish .Epifanes . :thumb:

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Postby bay surfer » Thu Sep 14, 2006 7:53 pm

6 coats are a Minimum for poly, 1 spit coat (half thinner, half poly) then 5 full coats. UV resistance is not needed you dont leave your board out 24/7, so skipp to spar and marine poly, Use the fastest drying poly you can get Minwax makes a good fastdry poly, recoat in 2 hours. It takes 2 days to finish with fast dry poly or epoxy.
You could get by with 2 coats of poly, as long as you really wetted the wood out with the spit coat, but the board wont have a finish and just be waterproof.

adamdw
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Postby adamdw » Thu Sep 14, 2006 10:50 pm

Thanks crabman and bay surfer.

You're doing a (light) sand between each coat right?

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bay surfer
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Postby bay surfer » Fri Sep 15, 2006 2:13 pm

I only sand after the SPIT coat, after that just lay it on every 4 hours. If using Epoxy and you want a Sacraficial or UV protection coat of poly. You MUST WASH THE EPOXY WITH SOAP AND WATER TWICE, and then sand lightly or the Poly will NEVER dry/cure.
If you want colored board, add a little oil paint or have the hardware store add pigment to the poly, they mite complain a little but those bright base pigments are really bright.

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Postby crabman » Fri Sep 15, 2006 3:07 pm

No ,I do one hit flow coat with clear polyester film .When cured I take off the polyester film and its finished ,no sanding nothing .Ido my graphics at the same time .Inever sand etc once its done .It comes up like glass . You cannot get the same finish even if you tried spraying . :thumb:

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Postby gobigkahuna » Wed Sep 20, 2006 6:48 am

No need for epoxy in a ply board. The wood will soak up too much resin and the board will become very heavy (I learned this the hard way :( ). A couple coats of Polyurethane Varnish or a Polyurathane boat paint will be much lighter and give you sufficient protection from water.


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