Hello all, I am rebuilding the superstructure of my ship (balsa & plywood) & I haven't seen any real guide to what is standard practice for sealing these structures. I have heard people use 20 min. epoxy, fiberglass resin, spar urethane & dope. What do you all use to waterproof & strengthen your wooden structure & decks with? Or could you steer me towards a source of information? Thank you, Harry
I use fiberglass resin. Others I know use west systems marine epoxy. That really is probably the best but it's pricy.
I've used both West epoxy and spar urethane. West is better for ultimate waterproofing, but given the abuse my superstructures take, spar varnish gets the job done much more cheaply. So when I replace the SS, I'm not using more of the precious, spendy West, just some more varnish.
Since you're rebuilding your superstructure I would suggest considering rebuilding it out of ABS plastic instead of wood. Its light and holds up well under fire. Also its it rather easy to work with and you dont need to worry about waterproofing it. A sheet of 1/16" (24"x24") is fairly cheap (~$13 at mcmaster-carr). For the wood decks I use west system with the 207 hardener.
lol. If you want the superstructure to be able to show some damage and dont mind rebuilding it from time to time and you're just looking to water-proof the puppy you can use either Thompson's waterproofing (used for wooden decks on houses to protect from the rain), or some kind of wax coating. If you want to protect it from damage a fiberglass or epoxy coating is better.
probably a stupid question.....should the West System water-proofing process occur before or after painting?
My west systems epoxy's catalyst is yellow so it always has a yellow tint to the finished epoxy. I am going to look into epoxy pigments so I can epoxy in COLOR!
I found this link that might be helpful if you wanted to seal the deck with grey for example. http://www.westsystem.com/ss/adding-pigments-to-epoxy/
While I doubt that anybody intended to have their ship constantly outdoors and exposed to the elements so as for it to make a difference, West Systems epoxy is not considered a final coat finish due to its limited UV stability (although using 207 hardener does yield a more UV tolerant composite matrix).