Trojan Boat Forum

What oz for bottom side floor boards do you all suggest? And I need epoxy and resin or is that the same thing? I need a basic how to if someone has time to respond

Thanks!

bkwesq

I will admit that I dot understand your post , when you say "oz" are you refering to what type of glass fabric or mat?

what is a side floor board and where are they located, and what do you want to do to them?

as far as epoxy know how, you might try reviewing the how to or FAQ's on at the westsystems web site

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/fiberglass ... toration/

I think Trojan 'Grey' paint is all that is needed for both top and underside of the floor boards.

ready123 wrote:I think Trojan 'Grey' paint is all that is needed for both top and underside of the floor boards.

If your talking inside the cabin . thats correct thats all trojan used . any grey deck paint should be fine .

Yes I meant inside and I did fiberglass the underside and painted the top side my first fiberglass job - I'm thankful it will never be seen by anyone!

bkwesq wrote:What oz for bottom side floor boards do you all suggest? And I need epoxy and resin or is that the same thing? I need a basic how to if someone has time to respond

Thanks!

Fabric is more structural and stronger in nature than matting is and epoxy/resin, in glassing terminology is the same thing. A polyester resin and MEKP(methyl ethyl ketone peroxide - hardener) is your epoxy. The most important 3 things to remember is
1: leave NO air bubbles in your resined glass. use a roller to roll out the air bubbles. they decrease your structural integrity
2: DO NOT use your resin/hardener in direct sunlight ona hot day. It WILL burn
3: never mix more hardener into your resin than you can apply in a specific time...too much MEKP will let the epoxy set in mere minutes or too little, hours.

I would also highly recommend a respirator mask designed for VOC's.

Remember that when you lay out your glass, that after it becomes resin soaked, it will stretch outward, so allow for this when dryfitting the glass.

And finally if you are glassing an area inside the boat, make damn certain your have no flame or spark sources around, and that all windows are open.

Scorpyon wrote:

bkwesq wrote:What oz for bottom side floor boards do you all suggest? And I need epoxy and resin or is that the same thing? I need a basic how to if someone has time to respond

Thanks!

Fabric is more structural and stronger in nature than matting is and epoxy/resin, in glassing terminology is the same thing. A polyester resin and MEKP(methyl ethyl ketone peroxide - hardener) is your epoxy.

WHAT ?? In the boating world You have polyester resin and hardener (catalyst ) This is not considered a epoxy .Uses apox a 1 to 2 % hardener (MEKP )
And then you have Epoxy resin and hardener Totally different ( both parts )(MEKP is not a hardner use with EPOXY )
many cases its a 50/50 mix ( varies on brands )

I got the mix right maybe a little too much hardener but I had a ton of bubbles and bumps - still better than bare wood but not too much better. I will keep plugging away at this

It takes practice but where you did the work looks are not important and the added strength was not needed . You will do better as you do more .

I like using a epoxy like West system . Easy 50/50 mix more working time stronger penetrates wood better and much less fumes . Main down side is it costs more and needs UV protection if out in the sun

I should clarify apparently.

resin+hardener=epoxy.

epoxy by definition is any compound which requires a ester and a catalyst, so my post is accurate, you just misread it.

Also you are correct on percentages, but i have an 'epoxy' that is 4 to 1. it just depends on the brand as you say and the type of epoxy. So by rights 3 ml to 16 oz's is still an epoxy...it just requires far less catalyst.

In the boating/real world you would not call polyester , epoxy . if want polyester you would not ask for epoxy . No builder would say his boat is epoxy if it was built from polyester .

At least not in the states

Thanks for all the input guys

BTW I had my floor boards up today and they are painted top side and bare wood bottom side .

Paul, do yours look like they been replaced? Cause mine are painted both sides. Then again the money the original owners spent on mine they may have had them painted. I always believed with marine wood you protect it one way or another or you end up replacing it prematurely.

I belive mine are the ones the boat came with but being 35 years old you can't say for sure .