Screwed up the epoxy. Help?

[Northbound44]

Just want to tell that you did a very nice job and even if the sun bleached the original colour, I personnaly still like it. It gives it some caracter.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Happ

In the past when I had varnish that wore away the only solution was to strip the old varnish off. Use a teal cleaner and then a brightener. Then rebar is. The hardest part is sanding the old varnish off. Try 220 followed by your 100.

You put rebar in varnish?

[KJThomas]

After many years of trying to maintain mahogany transoms I found epoxy and glass underneath is just a pain. The epoxy and glass deteriorates at the wood Surface and has to be continually stripped. Forget it, and just use many coats of high quality varnish.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by KJThomas

After many years of trying to maintain mahogany transoms I found epoxy and glass underneath is just a pain. The epoxy and glass deteriorates at the wood Surface and has to be continually stripped. Forget it, and just use many coats of high quality varnish.

Callahand's chilled varnish. Although I've been told, by a guy making he living at that, putting any varnish in a bucket of ice works.

[Jimmyhenry]

Get back to raw wood. Then use the Awlwood MA Primer. Then multiple (6 -8) coats of the Awlwood MA varnish.
Job done. Last for years.

Pete

[gulfislandfred]

Nice work. Sorry, oak is not considered to be an exterior wood on boats. (It's also the first thing to rot, inside. It was, and is, used for frames on wooden boats because it bends easily, not because it's durable)

If you do take it down to clean wood, and redo the finish, make a canvas cover for it, so it won't get so much UV in future.
You can "antique" it, almost as is, with some tinted varnish, or add tint to varnish you have.
The reason finish fails, is that the UV gets to the top layer of cells in the wood, and weakens them. You can coat over the damage, and probably get away with it.
Brightside enamel is (in my opinion) the best paint to cover something like this, and look good. It dries smooth, but only as smooth as what's underneath the paint. Varnished wood can have some texture that will show up with the first coat of paint. That shows you where you need to sand it smooth.

[tomtriad]

If you want to paint it out, sand off the varnish, prime with Interlux 545 2 part epoxy primer, and topcoat with awlgrip or some other 2 part LPU paint (Imron, Interlux Perfection).

If you want a clear finish, sand down until it looks clear and bright when you wipe it with a solvent, then use WEST 207 hardener & epoxy on the wood or 'glass, then topcoat with multiple layers of a good quality uv resistant varnish like Epifanes. I use this on bare wood on my tiller (which also gets covered when not sailing) and it lasts for several years before a touch up. I rub down with a green 3M scrubbie, then wipe with a tack cloth in between coats of varnish - 3 or 4 coats lasts a few years.

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by Bigjim

Ok. I built this hatch from oak, cedar strips and plywood. It has two layers of fiberglass too top and bottom.

I installed the hatch this spring and gave it at least 3 coats of varnish. I was going to give it some more but never got around to it with all the other work I'm doing.

Now, the hatch is sun bleached and it's hard to see the cedar strips any more. HELP! I tried sanding it down with 100 grit sandpaper yesterday and put a new coat of resin on it but it really didn't bring back the full appearance. Is there any hope to restore the hatch to it's original beauty without stripping it all the way back?

You have to remove all the fiberglass by sanding it all the way back to bare wood.
I wouldn't reglass it, I would use good marine varnish or oil, however, in the long run UV is going to damage the appearance of your hatch again. Cedar won't stand up well to UV.
Better still don't remove the glass just paint the hatch, the upkeep is a lot easier however not as pretty.

[drdoyle]

Epoxy resin is not good in outdoor sunlight. Quickly yellows. Also can lift off an underlying wood surface if it gets wet.

[Rotten Ricky]

As I am another who is affected by epoxy, be aware that there are now less-dangerous epoxies, including some that are plant-based. Know that the hardener (catalyst) is far more hazardous than the resin.

Mention was made of AWLgrip. A friend who was in the industry and sold it told me that while AWLgrip used to be top of the line, AWLgrip was taken over by someone else and the quality was degraded - probably to be more profitable. AWLgrip is coasting on its former reputation and it is not the same stuff as in the days of yore.

Regarding Brightside paints, it is only a single-component paint and no single-component paint comes anywhere close to the performance of a two-part paint. After all the work to create something of beauty, try to use two-component finishes and coatings.

Epoxy coatings can be damaged by UV so should be protected by something like polyurethane coatings. Be cautious about fumes.

I would be pleased if anyone with accurate knowledge could be more definitive of these points.

RR.