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Re: Epoxy: Type Recommendation To Avoid Yellowing?
By:Al Edie
Date: 8/10/2011, 9:51 am

Hi,

It sounds as though you might have used a different epoxy for the taped seams than you did for the hull. Do you recall whether this is the case? If you used the same epoxy for the whole boat, I assume that the extra material along the seams may have caused the different color there than on the rest of the hull. It would surprise me it that alone would cause what you describe though.

In any case, although I have not used West systems to glass a strip boat, I have used it lots for other boat work, and I find that the normal resin (can't remember the number) with the fast hardener does yellow quite strongly over time, irrespective of exposure to light (for example inside a cupboard in a sailboat, ie. in the dark virtually all the time). If you happened to use this on your seams, I would not be surprised by your problem.

Others with more mileage will have to provide their long term experience with epoxy on strippers, I have only built one boat, and it is too young to tell what will happen in the long term. However, based on what I have dug up on the internet, I went with Mas epoxy, and initially at least it is completely clear. A solid block of it an inch or so thick is nearly as clear as glass. I happen to have such a block because a cup of it kicked off before I managed to use it all - it got hot enough to nearly melt its way out of the plastic mixing cup it was in. :)

Good luck with your overhaul,

Best regards,

Allan Edie

: Greetings everyone.

: I've built several strip boats over the years, the last was
: finished about 4-5 years ago. It's been so long that I've
: forgotten what type of epoxy I used on it, But when it was
: finished it looked very good. Here is my problem - when I used
: it this summer it was embarrassingly obvious that the seam
: tape/epoxy had become very yellowed. The deck and the hull epoxy
: and finish is still just fine, but the seam is like an old
: yellowed stripe. Picture a set of smoker's teeth that haven't
: been brushed for weeks - you get the idea. This boat has been
: used rarely, and stored outside, but completely out of the sun.
: I am in the process of refinishing it, but don't want to make
: the same mistake with the seam tape as last time... I've sanded
: off about a quarter of the tape on the boat, down to the wood in
: some places, and just down to the lower layer of tape in others.
: Both seems to get rid of the yellow color.

: None of my other boats have this yellowing. I'm wondering what I
: did wrong and suspect that I used some bad epoxy? Any
: suggestions of other errors, and in particular what type of
: epoxy should I look for/avoid?

: Thanks in avance for your thoughts.

: Snoho3

Messages In This Thread

Epoxy: Type Recommendation To Avoid Yellowing?
Snoho3 -- 8/9/2011, 6:00 pm
Re: Epoxy: Type Recommendation To Avoid Yellowing?
Al Edie -- 8/10/2011, 9:51 am
Re: Epoxy: Type Recommendation To Avoid Yellowing?
Bill Hamm -- 8/10/2011, 11:09 am
Re: Epoxy: Type Recommendation To Avoid Yellowing?
snoho3 -- 8/10/2011, 12:24 pm
Re: Epoxy: Type Recommendation To Avoid Yellowing?
Al Edie -- 8/12/2011, 12:25 am