Boat Building Forum

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sounds like CPES and a vacuum bag
By:Paul G. Jacobson
Date: 5/22/2001, 9:06 pm
In Response To: Question on wood stabilizing (Bob Warner)

As I visualize the process you are describing a few more steps come to mind.
First, to suck out all the moisture ( and air ) form the wood you would need to have the wood in a vacuum for quite a while.

A refrigerator repairman several years back explained ot me how they use a vacuum pump to remove all the moisture in the tubing in a refrigerator before they add in the Freon. ( This was a while ago when real Freon was in use) He said that they pull a vacuum for at least 30 minutes, during which time the water would boil off at room temperature and the water vapor would be sucked out by the vacuum pump. A pair of valves inline with the pump allowed the repairman to close off the tube-to-pump connection before turning off the pump, thus ensuring that the tubing maintained its vacuum. Then the second valve would be opened and the Freon would be sucked in and the system would fill with the coolant. Enough Freon would be added to give the system whatever working pressure was needed, then the second valve would be shut.

I think you are going to want to do something similar. As I see it, you would first subject the wood to a complete vacuum for an hour. I'm guessing at the time, but I figure that the wood will not give up its moisture as quicky as a hollow tube. After that time, you want to seal the vacuum container and remove the pump so you don't clog it with the sealant materials. Then open a valve connecting your vacuum container to a reservor of sealant and let it get sucked in. The empty pores in the wood should be open wide and highly receptive. You might want to even add some pressure to the system with some type of hydraulic pump in order to force more sealant in (pressure treated wood?)

After a while, but before the sealant starts to polymerize, you would remove the wood and let it sit to cure.

CPES is Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealant. I thought that it was offered by Defender, but what I saw on page 48 of their online PDF format catalog was similar. (www.defenderus.com) At the same time I was looking, I caught a blurb in their catalog on that page, or one near it, for toluol, a solvent that makes the resin flow into the wood more easily.

Perhaps someone else can suggest a link to a supplier of CPES.

Hope this helps.

PGJ

Messages In This Thread

Question on wood stabilizing
Bob Warner -- 5/22/2001, 8:13 pm
More on CPES
Pete Rudie -- 5/27/2001, 12:46 am
Re: Question on wood stabilizing
David Dick -- 5/24/2001, 3:04 pm
Re: Question on wood stabilizing
Kurt -- 5/23/2001, 1:46 pm
Re: Damn it Kurt!
Geo. Cushing -- 5/24/2001, 3:48 pm
plexiglas solvent
Paul G. Jacobson -- 5/24/2001, 2:20 am
sounds like CPES and a vacuum bag
Paul G. Jacobson -- 5/22/2001, 9:06 pm
CPES
Pete Rudie -- 5/23/2001, 12:19 pm
Re: CPES
Paul G. Jacobson -- 5/24/2001, 2:36 am
Re: Tire Valve
Geo. Cushing -- 5/24/2001, 3:42 pm
subambient pressure
mike allen ---> -- 5/23/2001, 2:27 pm
Re: Question on wood stabilizing
Chip Sandresky -- 5/22/2001, 8:51 pm