Resin Question

[ChockFullOnuts22]

I was wondering if someone could tell me if there is a good fiberglass or epoxy resin out there that goes on reasonably thin and cures clear in color (Bondo products tend to cure with a greenish or brownish tint).

My boat's rudder is made out of solid teak. Over the last 4 seasons that I have had the boat in a slip, I have left the rudder on the boat (and therefore in the water) at all times. At first it seemed like the Spar urethane was doing a good job protecting the wood, but at the end of this past season I noticed that the wood is now starting to show signs of water damage. The rudder is heavy, so I don't want to have to stow it in the cabin after every time I use it, but I don't want to keep relying on the Spar urethane when it's clearly not enough protection. What I'm thinking is that I can refinish the blade in Spar urethane and get it looking pretty, like I do every season, and then put a coat of resin on top of the finish to permanently protect it. However, if there is no colorless resin on the market, I don't want to permanently mar the wood's appearance, either.

[kmclemore]

West System epoxy goes off relatively clear.

What you want to watch for, however, is not only how it cures, but how it ages... UV can cause many coatings to go dull, yellow and/or cloudy.

[Bob McLellan]

Glen-L-Marine (a maker of boat kits) has a resin for what you want to do. I used it when I built a strip canoe out of cedar. Although, the resin was applied directly to the raw wood and the varnish (with UV protection) was applied over the resin. I even had a layer of glass and you could see right thru it. Really clear!

[ChockFullOnuts22]

West System epoxy goes off relatively clear.

What you want to watch for, however, is not only how it cures, but how it ages... UV can cause many coatings to go dull, yellow and/or cloudy.

Yes, very good point. I definitely don't want something that ages badly...resin doesn't sand away as easily as regular varnish does.

Glen-L-Marine (a maker of boat kits) has a resin for what you want to do. I used it when I built a strip canoe out of cedar. Although, the resin was applied directly to the raw wood and the varnish (with UV protection) was applied over the resin. I even had a layer of glass and you could see right thru it. Really clear!

I've never heard of such a product before; I'll definitely have to check it out! The resin was put on the wood, and then the varnish on the resin?? That's some interesting varnish!

[Scott]

Not to disparage anyones perceptions of what resyn is but here goes.

Almost all resin is produced in Taiwan. Paint, protective coating or marine resin. It all starts with the same product base. Polyester or Epoxy Resin.

The final type of resin is determined by the additives that the final bottler/ manufacturer puts in it. In the case of marine resin there are 3 types. Base, Flexible and remains a little tacky. Finish. Dries hard and will take a shine. Gel coat. Hard buffable surface that is primarily used in color applications. Gel coat needs to be sealed from air while drying to get a hard surface. Spraying it with mold release after application is the common way of doing this.

Resin should not be used to coat wood without some fiberglass. It will crack and spider. If you resin is coming out brown it is prob too thick. There may be some resins that are substandard and will be brownish when applied properly I've just never seen that.

[JoeVacs]

I agree with Scott. Also West System epoxy with a thinlayer of fiberglass matt will do the trick and with 3 layers of epoxy over the cloth, it will still be clear and beautiful. Then coat it with clear UV protection and you're done for a long time.

[deepfreezesailor]

If you use West Systems epoxy with the 207 hardener followed by a topquality varnish that has excellent UV inhibitors (Cabots come to mind, check out "Wooden Boats" magizine or website). The 207 hardener was developed for application over wood so the all of the grain and character of the wood show through. I hope this helps rather than muddy the waters.

Deepfreezesailor

[ChockFullOnuts22]

To be honest, it looks like resin isn't going to work for me. I don't want to strip the whole blade all the way down to wood. I was just looking for a quick-coat sort of application that would be more waterproof than the spar urethane I'm already using.

Thanks for the ideas and clarification, though. I'll keep your advice in mind for any future builds on this boat or my little Albacore.