Resin choice

[jakenull]

Hello all,

I acquired a project 16ft fiberglass canoe this summer. It has a bunch of spider cracks and a small chip or two roughly 1/8th inch.
It also has an old polyester resin patch with added glass that is pretty rough.


I was hoping someone can offer some advice.

At first it thought I'd just spot fix each spider crack individually with polyester resin , sand down and smooth out the old patch and paint the entire hull with marine enamel...
I'm assuming polyester resin can be used as a coating layer and without any additional cloth being layed?

Then i thought maybe Id sand out the whole hull and give the entire thing a coating of epoxy and then paint...

But then i got the idea maybe i should just tint the poly resin and give the entire thing a fresh coat...

Suggestions/ideas?

 

[Jim Dodd]

I had an old Sears 12' canoe years ago, given to me.

Gave it a quick sand.
Applied a layer of 6 oz cloth with epoxy resin, and two fill coats.

It served me well, until I gave it away about 10 yrs later.

I'd probably do the same thing with your canoe.

Jim

Oh ! Welcome to the site !

 

[muddyfeet]

I like the plan of sanding it down (including the old patch) and coating with a layer or two of epoxy: it should bond to the existing fiberglass pretty well and give a new finish. It’s probably easier to apply/sand than a polyester Gelcoat. It won’t add any structural benefit: if you need reinforcement at the patch you can use some light fiberglass cloth. Sand off anything loose though to get a good bond. There are colors available for epoxy: I think a two-tone finish could make an old canoe look good: taping the waterline off and coating the bottom with a colored epoxy, while using clear for the rest. I’ve refinished a boat this way using system three silvertip epoxy: it is fairly thin and non yellowing and somewhat uv stable.

 

[pblanc]

I have used a low viscosity epoxy like System Three's Clear Coat. A couple of coats of this will tend to fill in shallow spider cracks. It won't make them invisible but will make them much less noticeable and improve the overall appearance.

 

[memaquay]

System three clearcoat was my favorite. Used pro set on latest build, by west. It's pretty nice too, and not as costly.

 

[DeniseO30]

If you find epoxy coating the outside fills in the cracks you may want to paint it with a two-part polyurethane paint $$$ rather than 1 stage paint $ If the boat seems weak and the inside hasn't been painted you could put cloth on the inside because that would add more strength then adding it to the outside.

 

[Jim Dodd]

If you find epoxy coating the outside fills in the cracks you may want to paint it with a two-part polyurethane paint $$$ rather than 1 stage paint $ If the boat seems weak and the inside hasn't been painted you could put cloth on the inside because that would add more strength then adding it to the outside.

I feel putting the cloth on the outside is better suited in this instance !

It will not only seal out water, but protect the hull from abrasion, something cloth on the inside won't accomplish.

Jim

 

[DeniseO30]

Not my boat not my decision, whatever it gets is going to add weight to what already probably is a rather heavy boat.

 

[ppine]

Use epoxy. Easier to work with, much stronger, predictable and does not smell.
I just repaired a kevlar Canadienne with a new supplier. I used US Composites out of Florida. S glass and epoxy worked wonders. In the warm weather of summer, the medium fast gave me plenty of time to work with it. The viscosity is pretty low so it tends to run a little on vertical surfaces. With fairing compound it stays put. I painted the old faded and repaired gelcoat with Rustoleum topsides enamel. It looks like a new boat.