plywood, epoxy, fiberglass

I am a hobby woodworker, who is starting to take commissions from non-family for the first time. My first customer is a boat owner who needs to replace the door to his cabin, and wants to replace some plywood side panels that have degraded. Our first thought was to use solid teak for the doors, but as I began to think about replacing the plywood, I developed another idea. Hopefully more cost effective.

I am wondering about using plywood, sealing it with fiberglass or epoxy, and laminating it with teak. I like the look of teak decking, and would like to laminate strips of teak onto the plywood, using solid teak to band the edges. I would also like to caulk between the strips, again to give it the look of a traditional teak deck. I?ve never done anything like this, and am trying to decide if it would be worthwhile.

The doors are ? inch thick. I was thinking about using ? or ? inch plywood. I can cut the teak veneer to my desired thickness, though I?d like for it to be 3/32 to 1/8 inch thick. I?m not sure what would be the best product to seal the plywood with (epoxy or fiberglass) nor am I aware of the best way to attach the veneer to the plywood once it is sealed (I was thinking some form of epoxy).

Any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

Re: plywood, epoxy, fiberglass

the fiberglass will not do you any good in that situation.
it will only ruin the nice finish you want.
tho i have not used it....clear penetrating sealing epoxy might do the trick.

i beleive the usaual fix for that is to use spar varnish over the wood.....however....its teak....and that stuff wants oil !

Re: plywood, epoxy, fiberglass

oh.....and by the way

cheers and welcome to i boats....the best boating forum in the world

Re: plywood, epoxy, fiberglass

If I were to do this, I would use your concept of the 1/2" ply. First I would be certain to dry the wood completely. Then, apply either a thinned epoxy(with acetone) or just strait epoxy. Use a slow to medium hardner and obviously a thin not thick epoxy base. Coat the ply with this and allow it to soak for 30 minutes to an hour depending on heat and humidity. Once it has soaked just about all that it wants to I would mix another batch and coat it again( dont forget the side grain) then use a light cloth fiberglass. once that sets up enough to flip the piece, do the other side the same ensuring that you wrap the sides as well( it helps if you can route the edges with a small round over bit. Then once it sets up and if you feel it is strong enough and clear enough either continue on to gluing the teak on it or put another coat of resin and another layer of glass. After this is all set up within 24 hours I would then make a thickened epoxy mixture with cabosil since it tends to have a caulkish look to it when cured and apply it with a notched trough. place your teak down with the finished side masked off if you do not want to seal the teak with epoxy then use a rounded edge that will give you the desired look you are going for and spread more of the thickened epoxy in the "gaps" between the wood. Then use a teak sealer or even coat it with epoxy. Just keep in mind that epoxy is UV sensitive so it WILL yellow with sun exposure. I believe that the epoxy used for counter tops is UV resistant. but I am not sure. Perhaps a good urethane sealer would be enough to protect the visible thickened epoxy from yellowing although it really is not a "ugly" look once yellowed. Just a thought, but this would make these doors something that will be around long after the owner of the boat is...

Re: plywood, epoxy, fiberglass

OOps I agree that I would not want this in my boat, but the guy asked...Teak is a beautiful wood but really, if you are making teak doors then money should not be of too much concern so you should make the entire door of teak. WOOOOOOOO a little $$$$$ for my blood.

Re: plywood, epoxy, fiberglass

teak is so purty......

id do a test batch first and see how it looked.

Re: plywood, epoxy, fiberglass

Thanks for the warm welcome.

The boat is nothing spectacular, but the owner is very excited about it. It is an old CrisCraft. The door is nothing too special either. It is basically a bi-fold door (approx 20"x24"), with a three-piece folding hatch above it.

All totaled, solid teak for the door and hatch should run about $300. I think he would love a cheaper option, but he really wants a good looking wood, that will hold up well over time.

Are there other options I should be considering?

Re: plywood, epoxy, fiberglass

I think what you're suggesting is just fine. It's a nice way to get an economical, good looking door.

You can do the project just how you'd do it for a teak or other wood veneer on plywood. Attach the veneer with a waterproof glue to the plywood, use a vacuum bag if you have one. Optionally seal the plywood first with something like cetol or spar varnish. Assuming you do a good job with the veneer, the teak and the glue for it (which is very similar to epoxy) will protect everything but the plywood edges. Seal the edges with cetol or varnish if you didn't earlier, and ideally cover them with a veneer too for the same protection as the rest of the wood. Make sure you waterproof any holes through the outer veneer.

Finish the veneer with teak oil, spar varnish, or both. When put together the whole thing will look very much like a solid teak door.

Alternatively, you can use a teak substitute wood. A lot of the home stores now are selling "brazilian teak" which is actually a wood called cumaru. It's got some similarity to teak, not the least of which is an expensive look and durability, but it's quite a bit cheaper. You could make a solid wood door out of it.

Finally you can also get teak plywood. Basically this is plywood made with waterproof cores and veneers, with the outer veneer being nicely figured teakwood. Cover the edges up and it'll look quite nice.

Erik