Epoxy Paint
Doug
by Valspar. It comes with 1 gallon of epoxy/paint and 1 gallon of
hardener. I read the label and it says it can be used on wood too. It
says it's waterproof. It also comes with anti-skid material that you
can sprinkle onto the wet paint. Is this stuff just epoxy resin with
paint added and, if so, why couldn't it be used to waterproof a
plywood boat? It comes in light and dark gray and costs about
$32.00/gallon kit here in Nevada. I realize you'd still need epoxy
resin to wet out your fiberglass seams. If it won't substitute for
epoxy resin, it would at least provide an extra measure of protection
in painting the boat, wouldn't it?
Frank Hagan
of which satisfied me. The only way to know for sure is to try it in
a "scratch test" like System Three describes in their wonderful "The
Epoxy Book." Basically, you paint a little on your epoxied surface,
let it cure, take a razor blade or x-acto knife and make a series of
cross hatch cuts in the paint about 1/8" apart, burnish on some
cellophane tape and rip it off. If the paint comes off with the tape,
don't use it. But that requires that you actually buy the stuff and
try it on your epoxy. And if you're like me, the whole reason you
didn't just go down and pay $32 per quart for the marine paint your
epoxy manufacturer recommends is you are cheap. I'm so cheap I used
latex, which (applied correctly) always sticks to epoxy.
By the way, System Three recommends that you do the "scratch test"
with any paint that requires something other than water to clean your
brushes.
I suspect ... but haven't verified ... that System Three's "water
reduceable" paints for use with their epoxy is a type of latex paint.
I've corresponded with folks who have used it, and they generally
recommend it highly, saying that if it IS latex, its the best latex
they have ever seen. So I'm not criticizing it, by any stretch of the
imagination.
I used exterior porch and floor enamel on my boat. It works, and is a
serviceable coating. But its "soft" and not as durable as a "hard
shell" oil-based paint. And it doesn't give off high gloss either
(even though it was "high gloss" paint.) Next time I'll probably use
some oil-based marine paint like Brightsides or System Three's "water
reduceable" paint.
- - -
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Resources for the Boat Builder, Renovator and Small Boat Skipper
Stephen Pawlowskis
that I have had with the stuff...
I got ahold of some extra epoxy floor paint from the company that I work
for, top of the line Rustoleum brand. I used it to paint my concrete
basement floor and also the wooden stair treads of the basement steps.
Physically the paint is unlike pure epoxy resin, it has more of a watery or
milky consistency rather than epoxy's syrupy feel. In my mind I equate this
to mean that it contains thinners. The paint covered wonderfully, obviously
lots of pigment which means less epoxy content though. On the wooden treads
the epoxy paint covered previously painted portions in one coat but on bare
wood, or where the paint had been worn off, the paint still left open grain
even after three or four coats. This is on 60 year old wood that is very
dense fir or hard pine I believe. On new cheap plywood the sealing
properties would have been even worse. Rollers and brushes left over from
the job were not encased in a solid block of plastic like you get with real
epoxy, they were more like, well, old paint brushes.
When boat builders here talk about epoxy they are talking about 100% pure
unadulterated epoxy resin. I would say that at least with the epoxy paint
that I used that in addition to epoxy it contained significant amounts of
thinners, pigments, and other fillers. It's my guess that the epoxy in it
serves mainly as a binder to adhere these additives to the floor surface.
When you say "waterproof a plywood boat" a better description would be
"saturate the grain of the wood and apply a coating to the surface". Real
epoxy does this very well. The paint, although it's cheaper per gallon, may
be more expensive once applied. It's going to take a lot more gallons to
saturate and build up a coating than with epoxy. If you are going to coat a
plywood boat with epoxy then to me it would seem logical to also apply some
kind of fiberglass sheathing too. I can tell you that epoxy paint is not
going to work for applying 'glass.
Epoxy allows you to build quickly and to save on other materials but there
were plenty of quick and dirty boats built before it came along. If you want
to build a plywood boat cheaply then old fashioned glues, mechanical
fasteners, solid wood framing and house paint can also do the job.
As for that "extra measure of protection", I do believe that all of the
epoxy paints retain one of real epoxy's biggest drawbacks, it has poor UV
resistance, so you would probably have to apply paint the epoxy paint to
protect it anyway!
"Doug" <tumbl...@msn.com> wrote in message
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Joe Stafford
"Doug" <tumbl...@msn.com> wrote in message
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Bray Haven
Very tough and covers very well. Be sure to thin it as they recommend. Another
that Ive used is Epoxtile II from fiberglass coatings Inc. This stuff sticks
to anything but is tough to sand (abrasion resistant?). I've always had good
luck with varathane prod. but haven't tried this stuff yet. Might want to
play with it some before you commit the boat project to it.
Greg Sefton
Bruce Fountain
> As for that "extra measure of protection", I do believe that all of the
> epoxy paints retain one of real epoxy's biggest drawbacks, it has poor UV
> resistance, so you would probably have to apply paint the epoxy paint to
> protect it anyway!
I suspect this is why the product is marketted as "garage floor paint".
ie: for use in areas with low exposure to UV.
Bruce
Doug
> Keep looking, you can find something cheaper to try.
>
>
those who responded in a positive way...I appreciate the information.