Sealing Hulls

[Peter Robinson 8Participant @peterrobinson8]

Hello and greetings from East Anglia.

I could do with some help and advice please regarding sealing a wooden pond yacht hull that is at least sixty years old. It really needs to be " glassed" on the outside to prevent it falling apart during use.

I have some fibreglass tissue, spray adhesive and plan to use varnish instead of finishing resin. It seems like a good idea on the face of it. No mixing up or going off and easy to apply. There has been comment about this method before, but I wondered if anybody has practical experience of it, or indeed the water based resins that are available.

Your observations will be appreciated. Thank you.

[Peter Robinson 8Participant @peterrobinson8]

[Gareth JonesParticipant @garethjones79649]

Hi Peter,

I am glad to see you are adding yet more models to your collection. Will this one be ready for Cleethorpes at the end of March? We have never tried using varnish over tissue but I would be a bit wary of it.

We have generally used fine glass cloth, around 50 grm/sq m and Z-poxy resin, thinned with about 20% Isopropyl alcohol. That works really well, but you do have to mix the Z-poxy and it has a limited working life once mixed, maybe 15-20 minutes. You can use the Isopropanol to clean the brush afterwards. We use a small set of jewellers digital scales to weigh out the constituents accurately in the container we are going to mix the resin and brush it from. (Only about £10 on Ebay) Sainsbury's Carbonara sauce containers make good working pots.

An alternative Elizabeth used on her Tea clipper hull was Eze-kote water based resin applied over old tights or stockings. That also works well, it dries quickly and the brush can be cleaned by rinsing in water. One thing to make sure is that the top and cap of the Eze-kote container are clean before you put the cap back on or it will be a real bu**er to get it off again the next time you want to use it. For an easier life, I would be more inclined to use Eze-kote than varnish.

We have given up on using tissue as it often seems to disintegrate as you brush the resin in and you get a hairy mess stuck to your brush. I think that might also be a problem if you use varnish, but you could always give it a go and let us know how it works out. Thin glass cloth seems softer and more flexible and drapes really well over a yacht hull provided you make the occasional strategic cut where there is a sharp corner.

All the best for the New Year,

Gareth

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Peter

I would agree with Gareth' reservations about using tissue and varnish and also with his comments about Z-Poxy and EzeKote. I would only add that it's important you sand off all the previous finish to prevent the new one from sticking to the hull where it's previously been painted.
You might find this article of some help, too. **LINK**
I'm also going to look out for the Carbonara Sauce when I next go to that store!

Dave M

Edited By Dave Milbourn on 30/12/2018 13:42:12

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I would agree with Gareth. Varnish is intended as a coating and not to fix glass cloth (which, as Gareth points out, is better than glass tissue).

You can use Eze-kote on glass cloth,. It isn't as hard as epoxy but it is easier to rub down.

Afterwards you will be using paint rather than varnish for the final finish. A lot of people favour the Halfords spray paints, use a primer first (grey is usually best) followed by the colour you want for the hull.

Colin

[Peter Robinson 8Participant @peterrobinson8]

Hello, this is Peter.

Firstly let me thank you all for your prompt and comprehensive responses.

I am going to junk the idea of glass tissue and varnish and go with light cloth and either Zpoxy or Eze-cote.The link from Mr Milbourn makes for good reading . Thank you.

Gareth, this is the Lady Betty that came to Cleethorpes earlier. March? well yes probably but still as work in progress or maybe firewood. Depends on what happens next.

All the best for 2019. regards to you and Elizabeth.

[NoelParticipant @noel26080]

If it is of any support, I have just done my first job with glass cloth and Eeze-kote and found that by following the article Dave links to, I got a good result at my first attempt.

[Peter Robinson 8Participant @peterrobinson8]

OK.

Thanks for the encouragement. Will make a start next week when the resin arrives from SLEC.

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