Woody question

[Leon]

Anyone have experience painting a woody?  I'm wondering what has to be done to the wood before shooting it with clear.  I'll be using PPG concept 2021 clear for durability but not sure if I should hit it with a coat of something to seal the grain of if that is even a problem with an automotive clear.  I'll be shooting it on Birch/Oak.

[purplepickup]

Leon, I'm looking into that myself.  The trailer I'm making will be a woody...finished clear.  I've checked with people that have made woody teardrops, boats, and kayaks.  They use no-blush epoxy on both sides of the bare wood to seal (encapsulate) it.  Then, if it is a strip type construction they use a layer of glass fabric and epoxy but they just do that for strength.  If your panels don't need reinforcing, the epoxy resin alone is good enough to seal before the final, UV protective finish is put on.  Some of them are still using urethane spar varnish but more are switching to automotive type clearcoats.  They are getting beautiful finishes that are very durable.  I think the secret to having a finish stay in good shape on wood is to keep moisture out of the wood and use a good UV resistant coating.  

I don't really know what other woody (car) builders are doing but I'm convinced that epoxy is the way to go for what I'm doing.  I'm going to use epoxy and automotive clear.

There's a bunch of wood boat pictures here: http://www.glen-l.com/picboards/picboard1.html#top  One guy I've talked to is Doug Hodder.  His pics are in the Malahini album.

Here's a kayak that was inlayed and epoxied

[Leon]

One thing I've heard is if using an automotive clear, to use the flexibilizer that is used for painting plastic bumpers on cars.  As the wood moves it prevents the clear from cracking.  Sounds like good advice.  I used some of that stuff when I painted the bumper cover on my pickup and it survived a direct hit with a matress on the freeway at 70 mph.  It was dark and I was in the car pool lane and had no where to go!
I finally started work on my teardrop, we'll have to compare notes!

[47wood]

Most of the Woodie guys are still going old school with something like Z-Spar marine varnish ...often putting on 8-10 coats ...1 coat every 24 hours, roughing it between coats with a scotchguard pad.  UV protection and expansion/contraction of the wood are the variables.  Epoxy resin will certainly give you hardness and strength but could crack when hit wrong (like a door opened against them).  On wood surf boards we use 823 sealer first to protect against delamination before epoxy resin.  The newer clearcoats and poly urethanes are probably okay but the woodie guys haven't had enough experience to know how they'll hold up long term ...and having to strip something down to bare wood that didn't hold up well would be a real pain. You might call Wood'n Carr @ (562) 498-8730 or check with them on the web: www.woodncarr.net.  They've been doing woodies for 25 years.  Good Luck,  Cal  

[Mr Cool]

I always use marine grade sealer on timber, I get it from hempel marine coatings locally, Im sure they'll have something similar over there.
try www.hempel.com for a local supplier. Its pretty good stuff.
Ive used it on my timber decked boat for many years and recently on my timber running boards.

[Leon]

I got a reply from Doug Carr and he said they use a two part epoxy, then switch to a sprayed marine spar varnish, finished by a hand rubbed
out finish with a product called " kitten wax".  Looks like I have some more research to do....