Fiberglass resin - Boat yard resin

[Kelly]

Anyone have any working knowledge about Boat yard resin? I bought some because it was 1/4 the price vs. Premium marine laminating resin. Now I'm afraid to use it because I have no real working knowledge on it. I've only used the premium waxed resin from evercoat.
I've researched a ton but still come up with "is this what I should be using?"

[John Nelson]

On the can it says polyester resin = laminating resin, in product information it says finish resin must use sea glass=polyester with wax we want to sell you some expensive fiberglass. You can use it. You only want to have wax in the top coat because you have to grind the wax off before putting on each layers. The wax floats to the top and seals the resin from air tack free waxy surface.

[Kelly]

Thanks John. So should I use the premium (with wax) as a final coat? My last layup was filling a through hull fitting for the toilet. I used the premium with each layer of chop strand (csm) and cloth...I think it was about 8 layers total. It feels solid. No sanding until after it all cured together. Is that how you do it?

[John Nelson]

We need a small fiberglass repair section. Ideally you use wax only in the final layer or top coat of gel coat. I think your repair will be ok. Did you repair both sides? I prefer to deal old through hulls with a pipe cap or rebuild the old toilet.

[Kelly]

I did repair both sides...about 8 layers per side.

So I'm considering keeping the gallon of boatyard resin for the layup and use the premium as a final coat. Between you saying that and a video talking about that as well, I think that's what I'll try. I'll do some testing. The gallon of boatyard was clearance for $22 at Ace. Hard to pass it up.

[Kelly]

So I just finished glassing in the seat structure with the boat yard resin. I will say it's definitely not as thick as the evercoat premium and there's no wax. I glassed in csm followed by cloth strips. As the resin tacked up I put a final coat of premium resin on to enable the wax to encapsulate the non waxed resin and get a good bond.
That's the theory anyway by my research.

[Kelly]

Interesting.
This morning I checked on my glass work. Long story short, any spot I didn't put the premium (wax) resin over the boatyard resin, the boatyard resin was still tacky. Everywhere I put premium, everything is solid and strong even after temps flirted with freezing in the shop overnight.
Once I mount the seats and really test the bond and strength, if all goes well I may use this process from here on out. This could potentially saved a lot of money down the road.

[Helmar]

This is sounding just like the Fiberlay Surface Seal. I use that on the last layup layer as its the sealer.

I am glad you are using a different product than I am and to report on how its going.

When I try new product, I put something together that is like what I really need to do on my project but its for me to saw, pound, pry to see how its holding up.

[Kelly]

I thought about doing a separate test, but the reality is the only difference between the two resins is wax vs. no wax. So I went for it. So far, so good. Time will tell (like with everything I try) if it will hold up.

[Helmar]

Well, when I was at Island Boat Shop, he used the Surface Seal on every layer, not sanded so my guess is you still have 75% adhesion as none of those transoms ever came apart or delaminated. The more I got into it and talked to Fiberlay, I was told how it works and why so I know its named for what it does, Surface Seal.
I always thought it was being exposed to the air made it cure faster but in videos, I have also seen them cover the places up with visqueen or wax paper too. For me, the jury is still out on that.
So, if your just using it and not doing layers, you got it. Wax on top.

[John Nelson]

Thickness of resin usually indicates age. Its slow to wet out cloth and pot life is short. This matters a lot if laying up a large piece. Small parts it might help to add a little styrene but not recommended. The test would be to cover the works with gelcoat and see how much chips off after five years. I cover unwaxed parts with cling wrap to keep out contamination till it can be finished,like a deck cling wrap and carpet till ready to gelcoat. Sometimes I find surface fully cured when I remove the plastic.

[Kelly]

With that test theory, I should've started it when I got the boat since I have 2 years to go for the 5 year restoration.

I used 4 oz. pots each time since I wasn't sure how much it would take to set the seat structure. The ambient temperature was around 73 degrees in the shop. I also had a heater on the hull to get the bonding structure to 70 +/- 5. The first pot had 56 drops of hardener per instructions and the working time was approx 7 minutes. The subsequent pots I reduced the drops to 33 drops to allow more working time. I did that with the final waxed resin as well. The working time was approx 12 minutes.
The peel ply stuff I see being used is for non-waxed resins over cloth or 1708 glass to smooth out the cured surface as it dries. Like John stated, it keeps debris out as well during the cure.

[John Nelson]

Can you imagine trying to lay up a thirty foot boat hull in twelve minutes.

[Kelly]

Haha, no. I do wonder what it's like at a boat factory though. It would be fun to take a tour of their shop to see some professional techniques.

I went out to the boat this past weekend and found the boat yard resin still tacky a week after laying it on. Is acting precisely as it says it would. I didn't add waxed resin since it was 12 degrees outside and I didn't want to work that hard at getting the shop up to temperature. (Inside was 40)