need help sealing wood floor

S

starcrafttom

Active member
Hi, I'm making a new set of floors for my sled. The old ones were covered in thin carpet and water logged. I have no idea why you would use carpeted covered bare ply wood in a open sled but hey that's just me.


So I have not done this before and want to know what type of the resin I should use or if there is better option that I should be looking at. Also what type of non skid. any help is welcome.
 
Marine ply will hold up a lot better, if you can afford it. Epoxy will seal the plywood, but it will check and water will get into the wood unless you lay on some glass. Six ounce is heavy enough, filled with a couple added coats of resin. Clean it well with hot soapy water and hit it with the orbitlal sander using 150 grit to give tooth for the paint. Paint it with whatever you like, adding some polycarbonate grit to the first coat, and covering the grit with a second coat. System Three sells the polycarbonate grit. much better than sand. You can knock down the grit with some 150 grit to take off the sharp points, leaving plenty of roughness for traction if you like.

More work than slapping down a layer of outdoor carpet, but probably last longer, and a bit lighter. In any high wear areas, stick down some rubber carpet runner if you like.
 
Tom,
I may have most of a can of the grit in my shed. I'll check when I get a chance. If I have it and you want it, you can have it.
 
Agree that a coat of epoxy resin is far better than polyester resin. Also it is advisable to coat the edge grain of the plywood with epoxy resin, as well as the under side. An alternative for the underside would be cuperinol #10 wood preservative. (assuming that you can obtain this in WA.)
You want to wash the epoxy between coats to remove the amine--unless you are laying the coats up before the prior one kicks off entirely.

I prefer glass beads for the non skid. They are not as aggressive, as the various grits, but still give an excellent non skid surface. Mix the beads in the last coat of epoxy resin--then paint over. There are also some good paints with the nonskid mixed in; Kiwi grip has excellent reviews. I have not used it, but would be tempted for this type type of project.
 
You might want to look into "Smith's Penetrating Epoxy". It is a very thin epoxy, the consistency of water. It is an excellent sealer and if recoated within 3 days or so ( depending on the temp) it will bond to the coating as well as the substrate and greatly enhance adhesion. It is used extensively in antique boat restoration.

Carpy.
 
Roger I will take the grit. Thank you.

I will look into the glass. I have worked with that before a few years ago. It am using a high end ply wood but not marine ply. I thought that the epoxy would make it water proof, is that not right??
 
starcrafttom":2zjls46h said:
Roger I will take the grit. Thank you.

I will look into the glass. I have worked with that before a few years ago. It am using a high end ply wood but not marine ply. I thought that the epoxy would make it water proof, is that not right??
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The epoxy seals the wood against liquid water all right, but with changes in humidity water vapor gets to the wood, the wood expands and contracts at the surface more than the epoxy does, so the epoxy cracks, aka "checks" which opens the underlying wood to more water, now in liquid form as well. The glass stabilizes the surface so it won't expand and contract with humidity changes, so no cracks occur.

I made a plywood truck box and sealed the plywood with straight epoxy, then paint. After a year of weathering in our wet climate, the lid was checked all over, and cracks were halfway through the top ply. Really POed me. So I sanded off the paint, filled the cracks and glassed the puppy, then filled the weave with two more coats of resin, sanded and painted it. It is still going, five years later, no checking, no cracks.

The deck boards on a duck boat are exposed to harsher weathering than the lid of a truck box. They will definitely check without glass to reinforce the surface, using epoxy to seal the wood.

There might be a single coat rubberized coating with enough elasticity to overcome this, so you might check in with a good paint store and ask about treatments for outdoor decking.
 
One of the features of Marine plywood is that there are no voids, and no dutchmen. The laminates are grade b or better. No knotholes, or gap greater than 1/8", The glues are exterior/waterproof.

There are also some very high grades of plywood such as Okoume or Bruynzeel which are used in boat building.

If the wood expands and contracts more than the epoxy, the checking will occur as Dave notes. Putting the glass overlay prevents this. I have used A/B exterior ply as a backing where I rebuilt some hatches on the Taiwan built ketch we owned, with teak facing and epoxy saturation on the back without glass and it held up well.

I have built several small boats using Bruynzeel ply and covering inside and out with very light (.75 or 1.5 oz cloth) with epoxy in stitch and glue technique. I am sure that Dave suggested the heavier cloth because of the application and potential for foot traffic.
 
Ok I see that the plan has to be glass over the wood and then paint. Should I soak the wood first with resin before I glass or just let the resin soak thru the glass? I have only glassed over glass before as a repair, never done any glass work as a build.

This floor will see a lot of rough work in a river / duck boat. I play hard and use my toys in the same manner. River fishing and hunting do no lend themselves to careful use so that this floor has to be tough but with out being heavy.
 
Captains Cat":3s9d97er said:
It may depend on the kind of wood you are going to use... What kind is it, more plywood? If so, be sure to use marine plywood...

Charlie
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Tom, what kind of wood? Pay attention Marine! :roll:

Charlie
 
starcrafttom":2aqsguav said:
Ok I see that the plan has to be glass over the wood and then paint. Should I soak the wood first with resin before I glass or just let the resin soak thru the glass? I have only glassed over glass before as a repair, never done any glass work as a build.
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Either way works, although a saturation coat of resin, allowed to cure to the green stage makes it a little easier to get good wet out when you do the glass. The System Three Epoxy Book, free download from their site, details tools and techniques, No glass needed on the underside, just a saturation coat. As thataway says, lighter glass can be used, with 6 oz the norm for areas of heavy use. Best to lay on the fill coats within the time when the new coat will chemically bond to previous ones. Otherwise, hot soapy water scrub and clean water rinse, with pass of 80 grit needed for good bonding. Typically, this means do each step within 24 hours of the previous one, unless you elect fast hardener, when the window is about 12 hours, depending on the temperature of your workspace.

After the last coat of resin has cured, a pass with an orbital sander to knock down irregularities and take the glaze off is needed to provide a good tooth for paint. Some paints are slow to cure on epoxy, so a test is advised. I have used the S3 2 part water based LPU with good results, but it demands high humidity during application. Roll and tip works well. The paint provides UV protection for the epoxy, and a matrix for the grit. I usually sift the grit onto the wet first coat (gotta hustle; second pair of hands needed), and apply a second coat after taking down the sharp points of the grit with a pass of hand sanding using 150 grit, if you are using the polycarbonate grit.

Others may suggest a favored paint. The S3 2 part LPU is very tough and durable, but expensive.
 
starcrafttom":vspzg3f9 said:
In my second post I stated high end ply but not marine. Dam navy.
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I overlooked that one because, for a change, the grammar was correct and things seemed to be spelled correctly! :mrgreen:

Charlie :lol:
 
Captains Cat":124rzolm said:
starcrafttom":124rzolm said:
In my second post I stated high end ply but not marine. Dam navy.
Click to expand...

I overlooked that one because, for a change, the grammar was correct and things seemed to be spelled correctly! :mrgreen:

Charlie :lol:
Click to expand...
Tough audience.... :roll:
 
Tom, I lay a coat of epoxy on first, then lay the cloth on, and go over with epoxy. A bit different than you may lay up polyester.
 
Dave and Bob, thank you for your advice. Don't let the consent distractions of aging , wondering minds throw you off. I do appreciate the help :wink:
 
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