sealing wood panels

[cruiser]

Hi all,
I'm in the process of rebuilding the rear seat bolster on my 95 370DA.I have all the wood cut(1/2" marine ply)with the exception of the small piece for the radius which I used 3'8 wiggle board.My question is what can I use to properly seal the wood? My thought was a polyester(boaters resin)on the edges then a light coat on the flat surfaces..If something else is needed.. would I still be able to drive staples(monel)through the resin or epoxy? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Henry Boyd]

I gather we are talking about the plywood that is covered by the upholstery?

If so, a couple coats of exterior grade polyurethane would be more than enough. I think the system you describe is certainly fine, although maybe a bit on the overkill side.

A quart of West System 105 plus the 7 oz can of hardener is going to run about $ 40. A quart of Minwax exterior poly is going to be about 1/3 of that. You are using marine ply, and do not need the resin for strength or to attach cloth. Because it is covered by the upholstery, you also do not need the extra UV protection provided by marine grade exterior poly. You just need something to seal the wood and keep out rot and wood eating critters. I would also shy away from using the marine polys because some like Interlux's Goldspar turn to jelly after the can is opened the first time making the shelf life of anything that is left over almost negligable.

Henry

 

[cruiser]

Thanks,
Yes it'll be covered by vinyl.The only part none marine is the wiggle board..would a poly be good enough for that or do I need to proceed with other methods?

 

[ghuskin]

wouldn't exterior or marine grade primer and paint be sufficient to protect the wood?

 

[wish2fish]

wiggle board? what is that.

Moisture is the biggest enemy of the wood. you need to keep the moisture out of the wood. coating the exterior may not accomplish that as there may be a nick in the coating allowing the moisture to enter. In my opinion your best choice would be to to use some kind of marine/exterior sealer that penetrates deeply into the wood. This sealer would likely last forever since it won't be exposed to the UV light that causes the sealer to fail. On some seats I refurbished I used exterior grade plywood (MDO) that they use for signs and sealed with a good deck sealer that penetrated into the plywood. They have held up quite well.

 

[cruiser]

Wiggle board is similar to luan but with grooves in it so it can bend to make the radius needed....that's the area of most concern..I tried to find a product that would be marine rated and that could bend..but no luck...

 

[beerman]

I was a mechanic at the Ducks(world war II amphibious landing crafts) in Wisconsin Dells for 11 years. They are used for tourists to give tours on. We made all of our own seats in house and used marine primer and paint to seal them. Worked well for us.

 

[wish2fish]

Maybe we should sing a song about sealing wood!

Wiggle Boards!

 

[370Dancer]

Hi all,
I'm in the process of rebuilding the rear seat bolster on my 95 370DA.I have all the wood cut(1/2" marine ply)with the exception of the small piece for the radius which I used 3'8 wiggle board.My question is what can I use to properly seal the wood? My thought was a polyester(boaters resin)on the edges then a light coat on the flat surfaces..If something else is needed.. would I still be able to drive staples(monel)through the resin or epoxy? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks

So how did your bolster turn out? Did you retain the top lip that goes over the coaming? I am doing mine now, and so far have opted for 1/4" starboard as the backing material. It bends easily enough to do the radius, but I haven't figured out how to do some sort of jig to hold the piece as it will be on the boat and staple the skin back on.

 

[cruiser]

Bolster turned out great..I did keep the lip over the coaming, that was important because that piece once stapled to the backer part held the shape(radius) needed to re-upholster.
It fit great..I made the whole bolster out of marine ply, except for the curved part. I coated everything with polyester resin, than sanded it smooth and applied 3 coats of bilge coat(had a can laying around) Stapled everything with monel staples(tough getting through the coated wood). Then I stared at it admiring my good work till the spring when I installed it..Will you be using the original vinyl?

 

[SCORPIO]

Catalize some polyester resin and then thin it with acetone and brush it onto the boards. Being thin, it will soak into the wood so keep applying until it can't take any more. Thats what I've done in the past and it worked well. I have some bolster panels to do this winter and that is my game plan agian.

 

[tobnpr]

My experience has been different.
Doesn't matter if it's coated with polyester or epoxy resin, plywood that's simply coated-and not glassed- will "check". The coating will crack and allow water/moisture in.

The fiberglass supply company I buy from told me long ago to apply at least one layer of chopped-strand mat to prevent checking.