how to protect wood hatch?

[iron21]

hi, i picked up a can of marine spar varnish that i was going to use to coat and protect my wooden floor hatch, but i have been hearing alot about exopy resin. I am really confused between the two. If varnish will protect against water, then what is the need for epoxy resin? If i<br />re-apply the varnish several times, cant i build up a nice, thick protective coat that would be similar to a resin? Anyways, what would be my best bet, keeping in mind i need protection from water, sun, etc.. Thanks, Jamie

 

[DJ]

Re: how to protect wood hatch?

Sun will attack both spar varnish and epoxy resin. Probably more so the epoxy.<br /><br />Can you paint it?

 

[CalicoKid]

Re: how to protect wood hatch?

Epoxy will soak right in to the wood and seal it permanently provided it is sanded down clean to begin with. Epoxy is not resistant to UV so sand it or scrub it with a scotchbright and water once cured and apply a couple of coats of varnish over the epoxy. The varnish may need a light sanding and recoating every few years.<br /><br />You could skip the epoxy and just varnish it but when the varnish cracks or wears water will be able to soak in to the wood.

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: how to protect wood hatch?

If you are looking to put a teaklike finish that will stand up to uv and you dont need to add strength,then I recommend Sikkens Cetol.It is the best finish I have ever used.2-3 coats will last for a few years.No fade or weardown unless you scrape it .Charlie

 

[CalicoKid]

Re: how to protect wood hatch?

Wait a minute, If that hatch IS TEAK you shouldn't varnish or epoxy it. Teak gets a much different treatment. Oils and waxes and the like...

 

[Realgun]

Re: how to protect wood hatch?

Basically the epoxy goes on and looks like 50 coats of varnish then you put two coats of varnish to protect the epoxy from U.V. light. Renew it once a year. The varnish.

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: how to protect wood hatch?

I finally found the articles I was looking for. Does anyone have any others?<br /><br />Honey Teak Has Staying Power<br /><br />Just four of eight coatings survive our weather tests. Honey Teak looks best, with Smith & Company’s Five Year Clear and Sikkens Cetol Marine close behind. <br /><br />Last March, we reported the initial results of a new long-term varnish exposure test. It had been many years since we’d tested varnishes, mainly because our experience testing other teak treatments (oils, stains, epoxies, urethanes, etc.) strongly shows that the best of these dramatically outlast old-fashioned varnish. Still, many of the long-lasting teak treatments don’t look as good as varnish, so for the sake of purists we decided to test varnishes. <br /><br />Our two most recent reports on teak treatments appeared in the March 1999 and March 2000 issues. The panels exposed for the March 1999 report were actually placed outdoors in the sun anywhere from 3 to 36 months earlier. Twel...<br /><br /> http://www.boatus.com/reviews/power/articles/5119-1.asp <br /><br />Teak Treatments: Round Three<br /><br />Smith & Company and Honey Teak outshine the rest; Cetol Marine pins Armada in the matte class.<br /> <br />While a head-to-head comparison of teak treatments for longevity may not produce the breathless excitement of, say, a winter Olympics luge or curling competition, it undoubtedly is of more immediate concern to the boater. Teak has long been the choice of materials for marine decking and exterior trim, although more and more boats are doing away with exterior teak in the interests of easier maintenance. Teak, on the boats that have it, represents a degree of maintenance labor that’s way out of proportion to the amount of the wood that’s usually present. <br /><br />As we’ve often said before, teak certainly has its good points: It’s dimensionally stable, it has great nonskid characteristics for deck...<br /><br /> http://www.boatus.com/reviews/power/articles/4986-1.asp