Re: polyester resin ?
Not to argue the point, but I'm going to note a couple things about Gracie's posts:
When applying this to plywood, concrete etc. as a sealer it DOES work very well. The thinned poly usses the wood as the substrate giving the same effect to strength as does glass. I have uased it in testes and nothing on the market seals like poly. When poly is used thinning then thinninf=g less and then thinning less again it will seal the first layer of ply very well. Water does not penitrate or discolor the wood like it does with many other sealers. It also workes great on concrete.
Saying "it DOES work very well" is fine and good, but what do you mean? Are you saying that when you were done with painting it on, it was waterproof? Keep in mind that coating a board with wax will make it waterproof. How long will it stay that way, under what use?
If you're basing what you say on use in a boat over 20 years, does that mean it'll work in my boat the same? What if my boat is different? What if my boat gets frozen each winter, and used in the ocean instead of a lake?
Giving the "same effect to strength as does glass" is another question. Science aside, how did you test this? Even some garage tests with a press, a scale, and some sample wood pieces might not be good enough to really tell. If what you mean is "Once the poly was on it looked sealed and it was stiffer than the pre treated wood" you should probably just say that.
The thing most of us "sciency" types have an issue with is people trying to take their good examples farther than they should, and present them as gospel, or people who make the logical mistake that absense of evidence is evidence of absense (in other words "nobody said it didn't work, therefore it must work fine"). Think about that a minute and you'll see why it's wrong.
The other thing about those of us making "science" type comments.. usually we're not talking just from experience, but rather we can provide examples and references for what we say. Pointers to vendor docs or online examples, pics from our own work (which doesn't actually prove anything other than we did it that way once) or articles from trade magazines are more likely to be good info than "I did it that way" stories.
Which is more likely to be a good deal - a used car for sale from a guy who swears he's had no problems with the car for years, and you should believe him because he "knows cars because he used to work at a car dealership", or the little old man owner who doesn't "know cars" but followed the maintenance schedule religiously, and has the signed receipts to prove it?
It's usually pretty easy to debunk some of the more outrageous statements here. They're obvious. Someone saying something like "XXX is useless as a boat material" or "if you use XXX, your repair will fall apart and kill you" are obviously using exaggeration and hyperbole to get you to do things "their" way. Hopefully most people see through them.
It's kind of sad in some cases. People who do things a specific way because they learned it that way long ago will defend their belief to the death. After all, which option is more attractive to them? Continue promoting "their way" and enjoying the status of an "expert" OR admitting they've been doing it wrong, that they've done it wrong a long time, that they aren't as good at this as they think, and that a good part of their life was spent sharing BS advice they were too ignorant to correct?
Like anywhere else, on this board you have to think and not blindly accept any advice. Question the people telling you things, find out why they say what they say, and take that into account. Just because they're posting on the internet doesn't mean they know what the heck they're talking about.
Erik
