I’m nearly ready to start applying the varnish to my WD 12. I’ve coated the bottom with a 1-to-1 mix of epoxy and carbon powder. Varnish the bottom or not? Thanks for any opinions. Jim
I intend to put epoxy/carbon on the bottom of my CH17LT. Looking at this forum and others, I have never seen anyone varnish over EC. I have seen pictures of others and they are very shiny and slick. I belive varnish would have a hard time sticking. Even if it did, the bottom is gonna get scratches and dinged. Any advantage (visually) I think, wouldn't last very long.
I chose this bottom finish because of durability, appearance, economices and ease (I hope).
Again, I have not done it yet, but that is my game plane.
Ken
One of the main reasons that we varnish over our glass is to provide U.V. protection as glass-epoxy has none. Graphite not only provides extra protection fron scrapes it also provide U.V. protection. As was stated adhesion can be an issue when applying varnish over graphite and it provides no benefit.
The down side is that this sequence does typically mean that more masking is neccesary.....C.Z.
Varnish actually defeats the purpose of the graphite/epoxy mixture. The coating works by making the hull slick enough that objects slide away rather than getting a purchase and gouging the boat. Varnish gets rid of the slickness.
Sounds like it's almost hatching time for a whole bunch of Ducks.
Laszlo