Witch clear for wood boat build

P

pjitty

As the title say's, I'm at the stage where I need to clear the wood on my boat build. So I have 3 coats of clear epoxy on the wood, blocked flat and now I need to clear coat the wood. Question #1. what grit do I prep the epoxy with for best adhesion for clear coat, #2. the boat will be exposed to the summer sun when finished [northern, New Jersey], so what clear do I need, #3. I will be spraying in a poly tent with a fan [ I know, not the most optimal] and the temperture probabily will be around 55 to 65 degree's, do I need to turn up the heat [small electric heater]. Just a little background on myself, I am be no means a professional painter, but I have painted a few cars, guitars, and cabinets in the past, so I'm not totally useless when it comes to spraying. I just need some advice. Go easy on me...

Thanks
Joe D
 
pjitty;24974 said:
As the title say's, I'm at the stage where I need to clear the wood on my boat build. So I have 3 coats of clear epoxy on the wood, blocked flat and now I need to clear coat the wood. Question #1. what grit do I prep the epoxy with for best adhesion for clear coat, #2. the boat will be exposed to the summer sun when finished [northern, New Jersey], so what clear do I need, #3. I will be spraying in a poly tent with a fan [ I know, not the most optimal] and the temperture probabily will be around 55 to 65 degree's, do I need to turn up the heat [small electric heater]. Just a little background on myself, I am be no means a professional painter, but I have painted a few cars, guitars, and cabinets in the past, so I'm not totally useless when it comes to spraying. I just need some advice. Go easy on me...

Thanks
Joe D
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Joe,
What do you mean epoxy?? What kind of epoxy? Minwax, automotive?
Universal with the 4003-1 activator is what everyone uses on the boats.
 
Sorry Barry:
What I meant to say was, I used Lay-up epoxy resin which is clear, to waterproof the wood [3 coats and sanded]. My question is: the epoxy coating is thick and can be sanded again, so for best adhesion for the clearcoat what grit do I sand the epoxy with. Some boating forums say clearcoat has a problem sticking to epoxy so it should be sanded with 220 grit. What say you...

Joe D
 
I would reapply a binder coat of your epoxy, sand and then apply the universal clear within 2 days.
 
Pay attention to Flynams as he is an expert on glass and I'm lost with the binder-coat statement, so I will stick to liquids.
 
Barry;25010 said:
Pay attention to Flynams as he is an expert on glass and I'm lost with the binder-coat statement, so I will stick to liquids.
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Sorry...just what we call it around here...I think the current term is tie coat...nothing really wants to stick to epoxy except epoxy, so your best chance for best adhesion of automotive clear to clear epoxy is sanded fresh clear epoxy...usually not over 2 days old.
 
mechanical adhesion sucks . flynams is 100% on this. nothing better than a coat of glue between the 2 .
 
Only epoxy I ever used with wood was one of the West system resins. Would that tie coat or fresh resin principle work with the West epoxy and clear urethane?
Never found any clear finish that lasted very long on exterior wood. Wondering how long the clear epoxy/clear urethane system you are discussing here can be expected to last especially on boat trim in a marine environment?
I owned and restored a 32' 1955 Chris Craft back in 1981. Much of the bright-work was replaced and finished with multiple coats of spar varnish. Looked great but needed to be re-coated at least yearly. At the time I had a lot of good advice from the owner of the boat yard who was an old time boat builder (wood). One of his explanations for the short life of the bright-work was that when the sun hit the dew on the varnish the water droplets magnified the heat and slowly cooked the varnish as it evaporated off. Sure enough the varnish died on the top surfaces first.
That boat was way more work than it was worth in the short boat season on Long Island Sound.
 
metalman;25016 said:
Only epoxy I ever used with wood was one of the West system resins. Would that tie coat or fresh resin principle work with the West epoxy and clear urethane?
Never found any clear finish that lasted very long on exterior wood. Wondering how long the clear epoxy/clear urethane system you are discussing here can be expected to last especially on boat trim in a marine environment?
I owned and restored a 32' 1955 Chris Craft back in 1981. Much of the bright-work was replaced and finished with multiple coats of spar varnish. Looked great but needed to be re-coated at least yearly. At the time I had a lot of good advice from the owner of the boat yard who was an old time boat builder (wood). One of his explanations for the short life of the bright-work was that when the sun hit the dew on the varnish the water droplets magnified the heat and slowly cooked the varnish as it evaporated off. Sure enough the varnish died on the top surfaces first.
That boat was way more work than it was worth in the short boat season on Long Island Sound.
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I agree with the owner of the boat yard...I also have never had any clear last very long on a boat...I believe the most durable clear is the epoxy it self...but application techniques and finish leveling, sheen and clarity are not what everyone wants for their "Show Boat". And no question, a properly applied SPI Universal clear job, properly buffed, gives an unbelievable finish...and worth the effort...
 
Epoxy and clear coat seem to be the way to go, from what I've read over the past couple of years. I'm using epoxy with UV inhibitors on the bright work, and I'm ready to top coat the boat. Thanks for all the responses. At this point I need to know which clear coat would be best...

Joe D
 
pjitty;25028 said:
Epoxy and clear coat seem to be the way to go, from what I've read over the past couple of years. I'm using epoxy with UV inhibitors on the bright work, and I'm ready to top coat the boat. Thanks for all the responses. At this point I need to know which clear coat would be best...

Joe D
Click to expand...

Any of the SPI would be as good as it gets....why not give universal a try...you will like it
 
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