Boat Building Forum

Find advice on all aspects of building your own kayak, canoe or any lightweight boats

Re: S&G: Wipe on Urethane with UV Protection?
By:John Monroe
Date: 1/24/2008, 11:43 pm
In Response To: S&G: Wipe on Urethane with UV Protection? (Tony Scott)

: Good day.

: I would like to re-coat the cockpit of an assembled kayak with urethane (or
: other coating) that would be suitable for outdoor use and provide good UV
: protection....but the urethane must...

: - be wipe on
: - adhere to epoxy (System 3 or West Marine)

: Thanks,

: Tony

I used the method below on Raka epoxy and also on US Composits epoxy without any problems to varnish my boats. You could leave the last brush coat off if you are just refinishing.

Minwax® Helmsman® Spar Urethane (Clear Gloss)

I used a MinWax polyurethane varnish that dried in 4 to 6 hours, so I could get a complete coat on in a day, hull and deck, and one day I did two coats with no sanding between coats. I had 7 total coats. I use Rehd’s method of hand wiping, which went on very fast and easy and virtually eliminated runs. About 15 minutes wiping time. I use paper towels dipped in the varnish which didn’t tear up and leave a residue. I use Rob Mack’s idea of not using above 220 wet grit sandpaper between sandings. That give a mechanical bond to the last layer of varnish and knocked off any high places in the varnish, yet I didn’t spend a lot of time doing needless sanding. The last coat was Rob Mack’s use of a foam brush to get a thicker last coat and then tipped of with that brush to eliminate runs and bubbles. I wore throw-a-way rubber gloves so there was never a mess from the hand wiping of the varnish. This system worked out well for me.

John

Messages In This Thread

S&G: Wipe on Urethane with UV Protection?
Tony Scott -- 1/23/2008, 5:51 pm
Re: S&G: Wipe on Urethane with UV Protection?
John Monroe -- 1/24/2008, 11:43 pm