Staining Okoume on S&G Petrel, Blotching and the use of a sealer.

My plan is to stain all of the panels of my S&G Petrel with Behlen Slar Lux Cherry Stain before assembly. I am concerned with "Blotching" and question the use of Behlen Pre Stain. Has anyone used this Pre Stain and experienced good or bad luck? Will a sealer clog the pores in Okoume and inhibit epoxy saturation or cause some other problem? I have read Nick Schade's article about staining and understand he coats all stained wood with a thin coat of epoxy. Also, any touch up work causes dark spots. I would guess that re-application of the PreStain before re-staining would eliminate "dark spots" too? Please advise !!! THANK YOU !!!


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RE: Staining Okoume on S&G Petrel, Blotching and the use of a sealer.

I used Blood Red Behlen Solar Lux on my Petrel Play, following Nick's directions exactly (no Pre Stain used).  There was just a little blotching when the stain was first applied but coating with epoxy really evened that out.  Any remaining uneveness went away when the boat was glassed.

The coat of epoxy did a good job protecting the stain and very little touchup was required.  On the areas that did require touch up, the epoxy helped prevent dark spots because the epoxy sealed the wood grain except where there was damage and stain was needed.  The only suggestion that I have is to put a little epoxy over the touchup area and let it cure before glassing.  I did not do this and stain leached over the natural panels in a couple of small areas when I glassed over the boat.

I realize that I did not directly answer your question regarding precoat.  Just sharing my experience as a first time ever stain user.  Unless you are very experienced with stain, I would stick with Nick.

 

 

 

RE: Staining Okoume on S&G Petrel, Blotching and the use of a sealer.

   Mark,

Beautiful boat! Looks like you should be very happy with the way it turned out. 

Sounds like the thin epoxy coating evened out the blotches. I will also use your advice about "touch up's". This is very helpful information. Thank you!

I also wonder if the epoxy will stiffen the pieces that need to bend a lot, like the recessed hatches and cockpit.

This will be my first experience staining, epoxing and bending Okoume. I built a Shearwater 17 S&G about 5 years ago and it turned out very well..... but, it is not stained. 

RE: Staining Okoume on S&G Petrel, Blotching and the use of a sealer.

Thanks for the complement!

The S&G Petrel and Petrel Play builds are very similar and the same manual is used for both.  I believe that the hatches are identical except that Petrel has a 3rd small day hatch.

The forward hatch recess was the hardest part of this build.  It was a PITA to stitch and a PITA to glass.  My biggest mistake was to try to stich/glue the forward hatch by myself.  It would have been much easier if I had a second set of strong hands to help.  The rear hatch was a bit easier because of the larger radius and the cockpit recess was no problem at all.  The day hatch on your Petrel has a small diameter so it may also be pretty hard. 

The epoxy definately stiffens the pieces a little.  This was not an issue on the long pieces on my boat but may be more of an issue with the hatch recesses.

If you are building from plans, you may consider going with flush hatches instead of the black rubber with recesses.  I think that would look better and it would certainly reduce the complexity of the build.

One other tip regarding the hatches.  The hatch recesses will hold water unless you have some kind of drain.  Nick does this via a scuppers.  On page 92 of the manual, you build thick filets between the hatch recess and the deck side panel.  Then on page 118, you grind through the top of the deck to form the scupper.  I am sure this is functional but if you look at the pictures of the demos boats, it is a bit ugly.

I decided to install a drain hole instead.  First, after the deck was all glued together I drilled small holes and inserted a small plastic tube between the hatch recess and deck side  (first pict).  Then, I build the large filet per page 92 of the manual, making sure that I completely covered the plastic tube.  Pict 2 shows the filet after glassing the underside of the deck.  Once the filet was cured, I pulled the plastic tube out leaving a hollow tunnel in the filet.  Next, I completely filled both exterior holes with epoxy when I glassed the deck.  Lastly, I reopened both holes with a slightly smaller drill bit.  The reult is a small drain that is barely noticeable.  If you really zoom into pict 3, you will see the drain hole centered on the red panel abeam the forward hatch.

RE: Staining Okoume on S&G Petrel, Blotching and the use of a sealer.

   Mark,

Looks like I'll hold off on "thin coat epoxying" the front and day hatch recesses.

Once again , Thank you! This helps a lot!

I built a S&G Shearwater 17 about 5 years ago and absolutely love the boat. My only complaint is my leaky hatches. I have been kayaking about 10 years and two of my favorite pastimes are paddling rough water and practicing Greenland Rolls. Therefore, one of the reasons I am drawn towards the Petrel is the water tight hatches. I had already accepted the fact that the scuppers are what they are. Your drain is an asthetically pleasing solution, so it will definately get some thought. These hatches will be under water quite a bit, so I need to emphasize function.

Thanks,

Chucko

RE: Staining Okoume on S&G Petrel, Blotching and the use of a sealer.

   Mark,

Looks like I'll hold off on "thin coat epoxying" the front and day hatch recesses.

Once again , Thank you! This helps a lot!

I built a S&G Shearwater 17 about 5 years ago and absolutely love the boat. My only complaint is my leaky hatches. I have been kayaking about 10 years and two of my favorite pastimes are paddling rough water and practicing Greenland Rolls. Therefore, one of the reasons I am drawn towards the Petrel is the water tight hatches. I had already accepted the fact that the scuppers are what they are. Your drain is an asthetically pleasing solution, so it will definately get some thought. These hatches will be under water quite a bit, so I need to emphasize function.

Thanks,

Chucko

RE: Staining Okoume on S&G Petrel, Blotching and the use of a sealer.

I have actually had a little problem making my front hatch waterproof. There is a little bow in the base of the recess from all the stress and I did not use enough 5200 when I mounted the base.  Hitting it again today with some silicon.  Not really a problem though, because we don't do any rolls in this water.

   

RE: Staining Okoume on S&G Petrel, Blotching and the use of a sealer.

Mark,

Hahaha. Yeah, I think it might be wise to stay right side up when your little friend is around. Or, learn a very quick roll, LOL.

From my experience, even the driest hatches leak a little bit. I don't think I've ever seen one that kept completely dry. That's why it's alway's wise to use dry bags too. 

As soon as I figure out how to attach pictures, I'll send a couple photo's of the Shearwater. 

The Shearwater had some water damage from a freak plumbing leak and I used Oxalic Acid and DI water to remove the water stains. It stained the Okoume a real pretty darker honey color. CLC is supposed to include a few pieces of scrap along with my kit so I can experiment with stain and color.

Chucko

 

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