Epoxy Coatings??? Which one

[cturboaddict]

Okay, im in the middle of a restoration...... Ive replaced the stringers/transom/deck with all new wood glassed in.
My question was, I wanted to coat the deck/bilge area/and interior side of the transom before i put carpet down in the spring.... (ill be fabbing a full interior also)... Im waiting on someone to possibly get me some gelcoat w/wax. But, i was looking into an alternative to use incase that falls through...
Whats the difference between a product like Marine Tex Epoxy sealer and those garage floor epoxy sealers in home depot????

I know they have a two part sealer at home depot for around $50, but they also have a one part epoxy sealer for alot less.......
Pros/Cons on using these?????? It will be covered by carpet, but i feel more comfortable coating the whole thing when finished....

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Epoxy Coatings??? Which one

Have you glassed over the wood completely and just want a nice finish coat of something, or is there still bare wood that needs to be covered?

Any and all wood should be covered with at least one layer of glass, resin alone won't last as long, and if its polyester resin, it won't last very long at all.

The stuff you find for garage floors isn't really what you want, but would work if its not exposed to UV rays and you just want to paint it with something, its not going to work to seal the wood and protect it though.

 

[cturboaddict]

Re: Epoxy Coatings??? Which one

NONO~ ALL IS GLASSED!!!!!
No everything is glassed in properly... Only thing i need to do is cut some "inspection ports" for the hull/stringer area through the deck and throw some quick glass and resin over those edges before installing the deck plates that i hvae for it.
But yes, just wanted to basically cover it. The only part that will be exposed is the bilge area, but that will be covered by the small hatch area that im going to build in the back of the boat... Just wanted to cover the glass with something waterproof and new that wont just flake off like regular paint will. And the cost of some expensive marine paints its outrageous. Money got tight as it usually does and im trying to keep the $$$ signs down.

All stingers were glassed before even installed to boat, then bedded and glassed. Transom was glassed together and exterior glassed before glassed to the previous fiberglass skin. Deck was resin coated underneath and layered glassedinto the boat and transom. Same was done with the added knee braces and horizontal transom brace.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Epoxy Coatings??? Which one

Do NOT use Garage Epoxy paint on your boat. It is NOT UV rated and It will NOT hold up in Marine use. The flex in your deck will cause it to crack and you will have a mess on your hands. Even the Mfg Reps say not to use it. This has been discussed MANY times here on the forum and the concensus is DO NOT USE IT.

Some have used this
http://www.trancertmarketing.com/durabak.htm

Others just use Rustoleum Professional Oil based with antiskid additive. I did and it worked great.

I'm just sayin...

 

[cturboaddict]

Re: Epoxy Coatings??? Which one

That durabak is up there in pricing too.....


So let me check pricing on that Rustoleum Oil Based Professional....
Can you get that from a local hardware store?

 

[cturboaddict]

Re: Epoxy Coatings??? Which one

You speaking of this?

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Epoxy Coatings??? Which one

You really don't need anything in areas that will be covered, in fact anything you put down will be one more opportunity for a bond failure for the carpet glue.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Epoxy Coatings??? Which one

Yep, that's the stuff. Very durable. Cheap way for non skid is to sprinkle some sand on it while it's wet then sweep it off when it's dry, then roll another coat over it. Or some mix the sand in with the Paint. I just Tossed the sand in the air and let it fall on the paint when it was wet then swept it off when it was dry the next day. Worked Great for me. That paint is $28 a gallon at Lowe's in Oklahoma.

I'm just sayin...

 

[cturboaddict]

Re: Epoxy Coatings??? Which one

Reason being is ive done alot of fiberglass decks..... Always covered in gelcoat tho.
If you leave exposed fiberglass out to the elements (i.e. moist carpet), the chemical composition will break down in due time. The glasswork will either crack faster or become tacky and soft. Trust me, ive seen it... Alot of people that we have built decks for, always wanted carpet on it as it was "too hot" in the summer or slick in the winter. Even if we added non-skid. NEVER turned out good. Unless there was a nice coat of gel under it. If its covered by something and only sees the light duty of moisture and sunlight, its okay. I should mention these decks are on HOMES....
Besides it leaves an overall good finished look to the end result.

As for gluing the carpet, im kind of unsure exactly how i want to do that at this moment. Thinking of possibly a snap in carpet or maybe a velcro attachment... Id always like an ease of replacing it if wanted or possibly getting it totally out to clean if needed. Thats a whole nother story tho----

 

[cturboaddict]

Re: Epoxy Coatings??? Which one

Yep, that's the stuff. Very durable. Cheap way for non skid is to sprinkle some sand on it while it's wet then sweep it off when it's dry, then roll another coat over it. Or some mix the sand in with the Paint. I just Tossed the sand in the air and let it fall on the paint when it was wet then swept it off when it was dry the next day. Worked Great for me. That paint is $28 a gallon at Lowe's in Oklahoma.

I'm just sayin...

Yeah, i just checked home depot's site and they have it for under $30.. Is your deck exposed? Or do you cover it with carpet? How long have you had it down and what does it look like now? I dont want a bunch of flakes coming off and ending up buying a bunch of new bilge pumps....

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Epoxy Coatings??? Which one

Exposed, and Pampered, brand new application. Always under cover and only exposed when being used. Applied at the advice of multiple users here on the forum that reported excellent durability. Gelcoat IS far superior and NOT that much harder to apply but MORE expensive. I believe FOR THE MONEY This is the best way to go IF you do not want carpet. If you are going to carpet, I would NOT paint it, I would Velcro the carpet so I could remove when wet to preserve as best as possible.

I'm just sayin...

 

[cturboaddict]

Re: Epoxy Coatings??? Which one

Sounds good~ Ive got a guy who might help me out with some gelcoat..... But you know how that goes...

So if all else fails, ill shoot for the Rustoleum. Hoping for the gelcoat, but would rather have my ducks in a row for an economical plan B ya know.. And yes im thinking of possibly velcro or snaps for the carpet, but thats down the road. I still havent started fabbing the interior yet. But ill figure something out for that when it comes around.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Epoxy Coatings??? Which one

Reason being is ive done alot of fiberglass decks..... Always covered in gelcoat tho.
If you leave exposed fiberglass out to the elements (i.e. moist carpet), the chemical composition will break down in due time. The glasswork will either crack faster or become tacky and soft. Trust me, ive seen it... Alot of people that we have built decks for, always wanted carpet on it as it was "too hot" in the summer or slick in the winter. Even if we added non-skid. NEVER turned out good. Unless there was a nice coat of gel under it.

Gel coat will give some protection to the laminate, but if the laminate is becoming soft and tacky it was either bad resin, or done incorrectly. Gel coat and resin are made from the same basic products, and while there are differences in quality, none will become soft and tacky if applied correctly, nor will they crack in this type of use. Gel coat offers nothing structurally to a layup and just having gel coat on the surface actually increases the chances of developing cracks because its an unreinforced layer of resin, which can be very brittle. adding non skid to the un-gel coated laminate does nothing to make it more water resistant.

Now if you didn't add wax to the resin when not using gel coat the surface can be tacky right after it cures, this tacky surface may go away after a few days, but at times when the area is exposed to water again the tacky feel can come back until the under cured surface layer is worn away. The gel coat you used had wax in it so it would cure tack free.

If you can get the gel coat use it, as far using paint under the carpet, its of no value unless you plan to also use the boat without carpet at times.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Epoxy Coatings??? Which one

Would BilgeKote work for ya ?

http://www.pyacht.com/interlux-bilgekote.htm

YD.

 

[cturboaddict]

Re: Epoxy Coatings??? Which one

I checked bilgecoat too~ sounded good, but still pricey... Im really going to shoot hard for some gelcoat. As i just would feel comfortable with it.