Pre finished parts?

The plan for finishing the wherry is to paint the hull and clear coat the rest.  Any reason to not prefinish (epoxy and varnish) the clear parts?  Seems more efficient to do it flat on the bench top, esp parts that are verticle on the boat.  I thought I would mask 3/4" on edges that will be filleted to keep that raw wood. 

Good idea?


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RE: Pre finished parts?

   Yes and No. No problem pre-coating parts with epoxy. Epoxy sticks to epoxy really well.

Problem with pre-coating parts with paint or varnish. Epoxy stuck to these to is only as strong as the paint or varnish, which is not very strong. You will be making a lot of extra work by trying to precoat in paint or varnish. Better to build the craft and finish her with paint or varnish after properly sanding the epoxy smooth.

When it comes time to finish her, make your coats thin and many and you will have no problem with runs.

Have fun building!

Joel

RE: Pre finished parts?

   +1 on Joel's advise.  I'll add that if you were to varnish/paint before assembly, you will end up with a lots of scratches from construction that will have to be repaired.  The plans for the 15' skiff that I am currently building suggest coating all the large pieces with epoxy and sanding (220 grit) prior to assembly.  Sanding when they are flat is much easier and that way most of the boat is ready for varnish after assembled.  Here is a picture of my bottom piece.  The non-sanded sections will be inside the flotation tanks and will not be varnished.

 

RE: Pre finished parts?

   If it is supposed to bend during assembly  don't epoxy it first.

RE: Pre finished parts?

 Grumpy brings up a good point.  Cured epoxy will stiffen plywood a little.  On parts with only moderate bend, precoating will not hurt you, but you may have problems on parts with more bend.  For example, on Chesapeake kayaks the manual warns against allowing the epoxy coating on the underside of the deck to cure prior to attaching it to the hull.  On the skiff that I am building, the designer advises that you do procoat/sand sides prior to assembly.  If you have any doubts, I'd ask CLC about your Wherry.

 

  

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