1981 18ft starcraft supersport

[jbcurt00]

The recommended sealers don't change, in pretty much the same order as given earlier, Epoxy the most expensive and longest lasting.

 

[Woodonglass]

A Vinyl floor will help protect the wood a bit as far as when it comes to dropping heavy objects and dents, scratches and gouges but not as much as an Epoxy or Resin and glass coating. As previously stated the are the best for preventing that. If that is NOT a Primary concern for you and you are primarily looking for sealing and protecting the wood from water penetration and rotting then the other methods are viable solutions. IMHO it's all about Care & Maintenance. If you go the Cheaper route, if and when any gouging occurs and tears or punctures into the deck occur, if you take immediate action to remedy the situation and fill and seal those areas with the appropriate materials then I feel you can have a long lasting deck using these sealers. Again, this is my individual personal opinion and you should go with what you feel best meets your needs. I am NOT the All Knowing GURU of Boat Deck Building!!!:faint2:

 

[tjakobic]

Does it matter what helmsmen spar I use, gloss, semi gloss or satin??

 

[tjakobic]

I would like to go with something that dries faster then 4 to 6 hours.

 

[jbcurt00]

In my experience, there are more flattening agents in semi-gloss, flat or satin poly finishes. I'd only use gloss for protecting any wood in a boat, if I wasn't going to use epoxy.

Faster the cure, the less time any finish has to penetrate the wood you're putting it on, IMO. Faster then 4-6hrs is a fairly quick cure for many types of finishes.

FYI: there is a difference between dry to the touch/to be handled, a re-coat window and cured. The rusto/tractor paint many use to paint their SC's can stay 'soft/green' for 30 days or longer depending on temps, humidity and application thickness.

 

[tjakobic]

Can anyone tell me how many quarts of this I would need to coat all of my floor pieces? I was thinking 2, this stuff should go a lot further then resin right?

http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|2200442|2200478&id=213955

 

[tjakobic]

Edit: The link doesnt work because the retailer is a competitor of iboats

Sorry
John

the petit varnish you posted appears to be some sort of marine varnish, or spar.

Probably about the same results from it as other similar priced marine varnishes.

Work? Yep
Less costly then epoxy? Yep
Less longevity then epoxy? Yep

dont get stuck in a paralysis by analysis loop

Pick a product that meets your cost, time and project goals and use it.

 

[tjakobic]

Can anyone tell me how many quarts of epoxy I would need to do my floor? I am looking at Marine Hawk epoxy. I do want to use the best product I can afford.

 

[tjakobic]

And also is it safe to use a low odor epoxy in the basement while the weather is too cold in the garage?

 

[jbcurt00]

Safe, tolerable will depend on who else is in the house.

My Admiral would be adamate that the answer is NO not tolerable, but IMO, yes safe.

FYI If you havent yet, google epoxy sensitivity. I use gloves and a respirator at work and at home when using epoxy to be cautious and i think it's wise.

Others dont because they arent allergic to it. Many have become allergic to it, possibly after just one use.

I am not familiar w Marine Hawk epoxy, but if you are using wood anywhere else on your build, get at least a gallon of epoxy. You may even need more. If they offer pre-measured dispensing pumps, buy them too.

For a 2:1 epoxy, you only have to dispense 1pump of each, the resin [part A] pump will dispense twice as much as the activator [part B] pump.

 

[tjakobic]

So epoxy goes a long way then. I thought it was as thick as resin

 

[jbcurt00]

Epoxy IS resin, and if I was ordering it, I would get approx 3:1 epoxy resin. I only used 2:1 as an example for buying the dispensing pumps.

By resin, I'm guessing you mean polyester resin?

Polyester resin doesn't seem to 'go' as far because you MUST use a fiberglass mat or cloth of some sort with it, and the fiberglass MUST be fully wetted out. THAT takes quite a bit of resin. If you use fiberglass w/ epoxy, it too won't 'go' as far.

My estimate of needing a gallon is extremely rough. Have you ever worked w/ epoxy or polyester resins before? If not, then you may use more (mixing a larger volume then you need so you can be sure you won't run out) or less then I would. Working too slowly applying it, can also allow the epoxy to start to kick in the container you mixed it in. Then you end up w/ nice modern art hockey pucks:

This is also what happpens to what ever epoxy you have left over ^^^

If you mis-measure either part of the epoxy, or make incorrect judgements about having sufficient working temps, you might have to scrape the tacky epoxy goo off the wood and start over. I know I've done that in the past, working in less then ideal temps. I may have also mis-measured the components. It was certainly NO fun removing the still not cured epoxy resin from my transom. But is just another way you'll use up resin w/ out making any progress, and need more or less then I would.

 

[Patfromny]

If it helps in any way, I can tell you that I used just about a gallon of epoxy resin when I did my restore. A 16ft bow rider with side consoles. I think I did 3-4coats on each side of my transom, floors, bow seat bottoms, bow seat backs, side console supports(4), and a bow piece that creates an anchor locker. Total wood used was about 5 sheets of 4x8 ply less waste. I rolled out the epoxy with a 6",1/4 or 3/8 roller. I did put a good medium coat on each time. I still had a bit left in the gallon of epoxy or part A. I bought the two gallon kit so I wasn't trying to conserve. I threw out the other half due to shelf life but I would rather have more than enough than have to wait for another order in the middle of the process. My entire garage was saw horses with wood on them. My boat Is a Crestliner and is 16ft and is somewhere around 77" at it's widest point. Your results may vary but I would think a one gallon kit would be more than enough.

 

[tjakobic]

So u had a gallon of each part?

 

[Patfromny]

I tthink I used the 3:1 epoxy so I used a gallon of epoxy and a bit less than half a gallon of hardener. I bought the pumps as recommended above and they worked out great. No bad mixtures I still did keep an eye on the amounts on the side of the mixing cups but the pumps worked flawlessly.

 

[tjakobic]

I have decided to go with West SYSTEM Epoxy. I am going to need an adhesive for the vinyl flooring. Have any of you worked with or heard info on west microfibers filler? Is this something I will need to add to the epoxy for good adhesion? Or can I use straight west epoxy for this?

 

[Woodonglass]

No, You use Straight epoxy/hardener to coat the plywood for your floor.

 

[Patfromny]

I used us composites epoxy and then contact cement to hold down my nautalux vinyl flooring. U have to wash the epoxied wood before applying the cement. The epoxy leaves an oily residue once cured. At least the stuff I used did. I also bought a flooring roller that someone (I think JBCurt) recommended on another build to make sure the vinyl laid down flat and wrinkle free. Worked very well and I would recommend the same to you. Got the roller from the Orange box store for cheap. Maybe around 20 bucks. It's been a couple of years and my memory is rapidly fading as I approach 50

 

[tjakobic]

What kind of contact cement did you use?

 

[tjakobic]

Put the last piece of the floor in yesterday. I also ordered all of my supplies needed to finish the project, all but the rivets. I still need to buy some one inch large flange rivets.