[Rhodes22-list] Tiller Repair Question

[Alex Bell]

Wally,

I just got a tip from a teak refinisher regarding using epoxy coatings
on the teak. She said that she thins a mixture of West System epoxy so
that it will penetrate the wood. After that, she applies varnish (about
6 coats). The varnish protects the epoxy so that it does not turn
yellow, etc. A touch up coat each spring will allow the finish to last
for years without removing and refinishing. Seems like thinned epoxy
will also go into the delaminated areas easier too.

Alex

Wally Buck wrote:
> 
> The guy I purchased my boat from had painted resin or epoxy on the tiller
> handle. It looks like crap and it is peeling and turning yellow. Also two of
> the wood layers are seperating. I wanted to sail last year so I put off
> tiller repairs untill Spring.
> 
> Now that warm weather has arrived I can start hitting it with varnish. I
> sanded down to bare wood yesterday and the tiller looks great. I have about
> a 8 inch split in between two of the layers of wood. I am sure this is why
> the PO applied expoy coat. The job was not done properly and I want to
> reseal the split area.
> 
> The gap is very small and it will be hard to fill in the space with epoxy. I
> think this is what the PO tried but he wasn't able to seal it off. He only
> epoxied the outer edge and it seperated after time. I want to try and epoxy
> the inside of the split and then clamp the tiller until epoxy sets. I was
> also thinking of using a screw(s) from the bottom of the tiller to help draw
> the wood together. I will then varnish with several coats of Z Spar.
> 
> Is there a better way to do this repair? I was really surprised to find out
> how nice the wood looked under all that opaque epoxy.
> 
> Thanks for any suggestions or tips!
> 
> Wally
> 
> _________________________________________________________________
>