Sealing Wooden Hulls

[f41stryker]

Hey, what's the best way to go about sealing a wooden boat hull? Do I need to sand the hull first in order to apply the sealant? Also, what is a good brand of sealant to use and what kind of waiting time do I need to do before I can apply primer. Should I use normal 2 part epoxy in the radio box/engine bay? As far as flotation, where do you place that in an outrigger, it's so cramped? Thanks all. -Chris

 

[dave roach]

The best sealant would be west systems.

Dave Roach

 

[topfuel443]

ditto what Dave said. Thats the best stuff out there IMO.

~James

 

[mark voorhies]

Hey, what's the best way to go about sealing a wooden boat hull? Do I need to sand the hull first in order to apply the sealant? Also, what is a good brand of sealant to use and what kind of waiting time do I need to do before I can apply primer. Should I use normal 2 part epoxy in the radio box/engine bay? As far as flotation, where do you place that in an outrigger, it's so cramped? Thanks all. -Chris

Sand with 220, 2part epoxy,(West System)or (System lll) or what I like, (System lll clear coat),

apply epoxy and scrape off with single edge razor while wet,2 coats needed usually, best to

wait 2 days for dry time. No floatation needed in a rigger,it will float.

 

[f41stryker]

So the point of scraping it off is to keep it light I'm assuming and only letting what the wood can absorb actually set? Approximately how long should I wait to scrape after applying epoxy? And this is done to the entire hull correct using the West Systems epoxy? And with applying 2 coats... Should I apply first coat, wait two days and then apply second or wait a typical 24 hour period in between coats?

 

[piper_chuck]

Yup, to keep it light and smooth. I've got a wood hull that I bought off someone. He slathered on epoxy and appears to have made no attempt to remove the excess before it hardened. Removing the excess and smothing the lumps has been a major pain in the butt.

 

[f41stryker]

Where do you purchase your West System epoxy from, I found a webiste that has it for $110 but that seems a little steep to me for epoxy. I found another site (http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/cm/epoxy.html) for $37.50, would the kit A-1 work correctly for my application?

 

[f41stryker]

And also just for piece of mind, after the hull is sealed, would you recommend using 400 grit sandpaper (wet sanding) to scuff the hull up for first coat of primer before paint? Thanks.

 

[piper_chuck]

Where do you purchase your West System epoxy from, I found a webiste that has it for $110 but that seems a little steep to me for epoxy.

I bought mine from Maston's: http://www.mastonsrcmarine.com/

 

[P THOMAS]

http://www.pyacht.net/cgi-local/SoftCart.e...8140+1076149007

Try this store P Yacht Allyou would need is the quart size 105 and the 206 hardner or the clear coat hardner if you plan not to paint the hull. get the resin pumps too

 

[Joe Warren]

Look for West systems @ your local Sail Boat Repair shops..... That is were we buy it locally.

 

[topfuel443]

yep, most boat shops carry it, west marine, boaters world ect. ect. it is expensive, but it works great.

~James

 

[R.J.West]

Hi guys,

I have always used Miniwax spar urethane to seal the inside and outside of my boats. With the exception of the underside of the decking I would spread a thin coat of regular epoxy to waterproof it cause epoxy wont stick well to the miniwax.

I would spray on a couple coats of the miniwax to seal the outside then let dry for a day or so then sand it down with 220 and spray on another coat and repeat several times until the wood is filled in and smooth. After Iam happy with it I will then spray on one more good coat let that cure for a couple days then primer, wet sand down with 600, primer again, then paint. I use regular Krylon. After painting and detailing I shoot eveything down with PPG polyurethane to fuel proof it. In addition, before sealing the wood I use CA around the edges of any holes drilled into the hull including where I installed T-nuts, then I would epoxy around the inside of the T-Nuts. For Pin holes I mix up some epoxy with micro ballons. This will result in a very slick finish thats light and water proof and relativly inexpensive.

Ron.

 

[f41stryker]

Has anyone ever used MAS epoxies?

 

[dave roach]

Brian Blazer has use it and he sales mas epoxies. Brian is on this forum. Go to www.blazermarine.com

Dave Roach

 

[f41stryker]

I know, he is local to me, I just wanted to see if anyone else had any experience with it before I chose what brand to use.

 

[Jerry Betke]

I have been building wood boats since 1967. The only epoxy to use for joint strength and sealing is West Systems. It is produced byGougeon Brothers, Inc, PO Box 665, Bay City, Mi 48707-0908, Phone 866-937-8797, www.westsystem.com. The best method I have found for sealing wood with West Systems is to use their 105 resin and 205 hardner and rub it into the wood with a rag, wiping away any excess. This generally minimizes the glossy finish, charactaristic on epoxy allowing for easier sanding. 3M makes a sandpaper called Sandblaster, it is a non-loading paper and is great for sanding epoxy.

 

[f41stryker]

Okay, I've been compiling everyone's info the past couple of days and developed an outline of how I'm going to prepare my WOODEN hull. So here goes, please make all corrections as necessary.

A. Epoxy Entire Wooden Hull

1. Prep

a. Sand entire hull with 220 grit sandpaper (3M)

2. Use West System Epoxy (seems this is the most popular) (105 & 205)

3. Application

a. Apply epoxy (2 part mixture), while wet scrape off with single edge razor blade.

b. Let cure for appropriate amount of time.

c. Apply second coat of epoxy using razor blade scrape method.

d. Let cure for 48 hours.

B. Painting

1. Hull Prep

a. Spray with paint primer let dry for 24 hours

b. Wet sand entire primered hull with 600 grit sandpaper.

c. Spray second primer coat and let dry for 24 hours.

Is there any sanding I should do between the finished epoxy hull and the primering process and if so, what type of sandpaper (wet or dry?)? Also, should I sand after the second coat of primer is dry? After primered I'll mask boat off and begin painting.

 

[dave roach]

When using west systems read the lable it is a 5 to 1 mix 5cc of 105 and 1cc of 205.

Sounds like you have it down right.

Dave Roach

 

[Jerry Betke]

It is faster and better to rub it in with a rag then to scrape with a razor blade. It penetrates the wood better and reduces the sanding tme!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!