Hardwood companionway boards

[hd002e]

I have some leftover clear polyester gelcoat and was wondering if I can treat my hardwood companionway boards with it. It dries up clear and supposedly very UV and scratch resistant.

Could this be an easy do it and forget it type of treatment for wood surfaces? I would love to hear from anyone who has experience with this or using clear UV epoxy (like the west systems 207).

[Cheechako]

I've never heard of clear gel coat so I guess that's new to me. I would be reluctant to put on anything that is very difficult to remove.

[hd002e]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I've never heard of clear gel coat so I guess that's new to me. I would be reluctant to put on anything that is very difficult to remove.

I hadn’t heard about it either but thats what they use on bass boats



Resin countertops



And for finishing off string instruments

[Glenn.Brooks]

No reason you couldn’t use the clear gel coat. Downside is hatch boards get a lot of abuse, being taken in and out constantly, thrown around, and stored on the bottom of lockers. So subject to heavy abrasion, gouging, and mayhem. The gel coat would suffer terribly and end up scratched, chipped and nicked all over the place. Then be hard to sand off and do over.

I iike a thin coat of epoxy on the end grain of hachboards, just to seal the wood against intrusion of dirt and grime. Then oil all surfaces with a couple of coats of teak oil, or furniture oil, or similar to get a nice sheen. Lasts forever and is very forgiving of rough treatment. Plus, looks real nice.

[hd002e]

Here are some of my results:

This is the wash board I started with, the varnish was damaged from the rain and moisture and it was getting to the wood in some places.



With 120 grit I sanded it down entirely until I got to the wood. My boards are solid wood so I was not concerned about burning through a laminate.

Next, I pooled quite a bit of the clear gelcoat over it with a brush and let it cure. Pictured here is a particularly bad area where the surface drued before fully curing.



After this, I started the progressive sanding. 120 and 180 on the random orbital followed by wet sanding 220, 500, 800, 1200. Below picture was right after 500 grit I believe. Very dull but making sure that it is consistent.



Next step is the rubbing compound. This takes very little effort and you get a nice deep sheen only after a minute or so.



If the longevity of the clear gelcoat is anything similar to the gelcoat we have on fiberglass boats, I am pretty excited about not having to do this again for a long time and touching it up with a little bit of compound and wax every once in a while.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by hd002e

I hadn’t heard about it either but thats what they use on bass boats

Attachment 163341

Resin countertops

Attachment 163342

And for finishing off string instruments

Attachment 163343

I dont think it's gel coat. It is poly however. Gel coat is polyester with pigment right? No pigment? it's resin not gel coat!
At any rate, that looks great!

[hd002e]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I dont think it's gel coat. It is poly however. Gel coat is polyester with pigment right? No pigment? it's resin not gel coat!
At any rate, that looks great!

I don’t really know the difference. The canister says it is clear polyester gelcoat. Here is a link to the product:


http://www.poliya.com/en/products/po...er/gloss_type/

It is supposed to be sprayed on, so it is a bit thin for brush application. The interesting thing is that it has the opacity of vaseline in the canister but once you mix it with cobalt amd MEKP it has the tint of lacquer.