The Florida sun is brutal...
And with all of the wood on the Commander I have been giving a lot of consideration to what finish to use for all my new brightwork.
While Epifanes is certainly on the list of options, I would like to hear what others think about System 3 LPU clear gloss over epoxy seal coat. Has anyone tried this for the brightwork? Are there any informed opinions out there about how well it would or should work?
The website link...
http://www.systemthree.com/projects-...tdoor-wood.asp
I love that shot of your winch going under water...
Must have been blowing pretty good that day or at least gusting pretty good.
I recently started a subscription for WoodenBoat magazine and was also checking out their forum. And you are certainly right that there is not a concensus on the epoxy under the varnish debate.
For my choice of poison I think the epoxy makes sense. If you look at wood under a very high magnification it is like a bundle of straws. Those straws are what wicked up the moisture and nutrients from the ground to feed the tree when it was alive. They are very good at wicking up moisture. And wood expands and contracts in large part based on the amount of moisture it is taking on or giving off which it does throughout its existence. So I believe if I limit the amount of moisture the wood can wick up (I will never stop it completely) then I can limit the amount of expansion and contraction that eventually causes the finish to fail. At least that is my take on the subject.
I checked out the Epifanes website briefly but was unable to decifer if the rapid coat was a better or not as good of a UV blocker than the original Epifanes varnish. I will need to spend some more time reading more about the two products. I guess in my mind which ever is the better UV blocker will be the choice I go with. Even if it takes me longer to do the finishing. I'm guessing that will turn out to be the original slow drying material.