Varnish or epoxy or....

Sprocket

Sprocket

New Member
Just sanded down the rudder for the fish, and wondered what is the best coating to put on it. I thought about marine varnish, but that is not really made to be submerged all the time... Then I thought about epoxy, and someone said that's not great either.

What is everyone on here using??? Thanks
 
I used two coats of MAS epoxy to barrier coat the rudder on my 71 Sunfish. I then put 3 coats of varnish on top. I used foam brushes for both the epoxy and the varnish. If you don't use varnish on top, the epoxy will be damaged by UV light and go opaque. If you do decide on barrier coating, make sure that the epoxy coats are thin.

The rudder doesn't sit on the water for days on end, so there are no problems in barrier coating the rudder. I've done the daggerboard the same way.

Hope that helps you.
 
I agree with JohnCT, I did the same for when I refinished my daggerboards and rudders.
 
I applied a few coats of spar varnish followed by periodic waxing. A weak point in the wooden rudder are the holes through which the pivot bolt and spring pin pass - water can get access to the end grain and soak in. Make sure the sides of the holes get a good coating of whatever you use.
 
I'm about to apply epoxy and varnish as described above to the wooden parts of the '71 Sunfish I bought last year. Rudder, tiller, daggerboard. I've already completed disassembled, sanded, and stained them. Here's my question: should I re-assemble any of it before applying the epoxy, for example, should I put the grips back on the daggerboard or re-assemble the tiller? (I also plan to put a cleat in the mast to keep the sail raised.)
 
I just ordered epoxy yesterday and have my stuff disassembled and plan to coat it prior to reassembly so the epoxy and varnish can pent rate all the holes and form a better barrier. Also polishing the brass on my pre-72 rudder/tiller and plan to clearcoat it (to try and keep it shiny). Probably won't last that long but we'll see
 
GreyingEagle said:
I'm about to apply epoxy and varnish as described above to the wooden parts of the '71 Sunfish I bought last year. Rudder, tiller, daggerboard. I've already completed disassembled, sanded, and stained them. Here's my question: should I re-assemble any of it before applying the epoxy, for example, should I put the grips back on the daggerboard or re-assemble the tiller? (I also plan to put a cleat in the mast to keep the sail raised.)
Click to expand...

Hi.

I would not reassemble until you are done. I used wire clothes hangers to hang the parts while curing (epoxy) and drying (varnish).

When coating with epoxy I found that thin coats were the best. It's tempting to use all of the epoxy you mix, but if you lay it on thick, I found there was a lot of sanding work to do later.

Hope that helps.
 
Thanks for the tip, wjejr. Wire hangers are good idea. I figure I can redrill any holes that get clogged. And if the epoxy is thin, it won't affect the tolerances when I reassemble them. (PS Cute dog.)
 
I use foam rollers to put on epoxy.
For the rudder, put a layer of medium fiberglass cloth on it, the epoxy will soak in and make it clear, and then your rudder won't crack.
 
1/2 or 3/4 oz fiberglass cloth is enough to prevent cracking of a sunfish rudder or daggerboard, but you have the classic issue associated with fiber glass encapsulating wood on a boat. ANY water penetrates into the wood and you have doomed the wood to rot.
 
Interesting points about rollers and fiberglass cloth. I bought some foam brushes so I thought I'd use those, tho I can see where a roller would be easier. Also I thought a couple of coats of epoxy would be enough strengthening for the kind of sailing I do. (Slow and steady.) Also I want the wood grain to show nicely. Thanks for your suggestions!!
 
The wood shows through the cloth. Once it is saturated with epoxy it turns clear.
I use medium weight cloth because it adds additional puncture strength, 2layers on the leading edge and at the pivot bolt locations I install flanged bronze bushings flush with the surface. Other holes are drilled over size, filled with epoxy/filler, and then re-drilled to the correct size on a drill press before I epoxy/glass.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top