Ready to apply my resin.

[beevel]

I'll be apply west systems epoxy to my trailer this weekend. Question for everyone. What should I apply it with. Foam brushes for the plywood endgrain and foam rollers? Or regular brushes and rollers?

THanks everyon.e

[donkro]

I just used a plastic, flat (not notched) trowel, made for a very thin smooth coat, and sanded between coats. (Brush on wood ends)

[doug hodder]

You want to apply it with the roller that west sells or at least a roller made for use in an epoxy....I know they cost more, but if you don't get that type of foam roller, and use the cheapies from Home Depot, they will break up in your epoxy. I get the west ones, cut them in half and use a shorty roller handle with it. If you only mix up batches like 5-6 pumps and roll it on....then another batch...and so on...the roller will last till you get the entire thing with at least 1 coat on it. I've also used the roller on the end grain on the ply also, but throw away bristle brushes work well....again, avoid the foam ones...Also check out West Systems web site for their users manual...all the info is in there for a lot of different situations... Just my experience...Doug

[beevel]

foam epoxy safe rollers it is and cheapy bristle brushes

Thanks.

[steve wolverton]

I differ from Doug in that I've never used an "epoxy safe roller." I use cheap rollers from HD & Lowes and they have worked well for me. I've never had any problems with them, as I work fast while applying the epoxy. I use the shortest nap roller I can find and work quickly. I covered my camper roof & sides with one roller. I applied a second coat the next day with a second roller. You will want to pull the roller off before the epoxy cures though - it can be really tough to get a new one on after it dries.

I also use the cheap foam throw-away brushes for epoxy detail work.

When spreading thickened epoxy or making fillets, I use Bondo spreaders (Walmart, HD, & Lowes).

[Lesbest]

I've used foam rollers and something I haven't seen anybody mention. To help the epoxy flow I use a hair dryer- it heats it up yes but it gets like water and spreads into all the nooks and crannies. Boat interiors, ribs, etc.
You can control the runs or lack there of, use the dryer to move it around and a plastic squeege, it would flow nice and then sets up quick (imagine that). Might work with small areas only.
Les

[Juneaudave]

I've tried some epoxy safe rollers (particularly those ones with the pink spiral stripe) and have had problems with shedding. If you can get them...follow Doug's advice and get the West System 7 in covers, cut them in half, and use a mini roller. That's one less thing that can go wrong....Juneaudave

[asianflava]

I bought some epoxy specific rollers at West Marine.

[MacGyver]

This is my first experience in working with epoxy and can share what seemed to work for me to seal the end grain. First make sure you have everything you plan to use laid out, this eliminates scrambling around in the middle of the process and losing precious time that could result in losing a mixed batch of epoxy. I recommend working with small batches of epoxy until you learn its limitations and yours. Have plenty of disposable latex or nitrile gloves on hand (no pun intended). Trust me, the epoxy will find a way to get on your hands and lots of other places. I prefer the nitrile gloves; they are much tougher and often reusable at least a second time. Have plenty of the inexpensive bristle brushes, they are cheap enough to just throw away after each application. These were used to stipple the epoxy into the end-grain. I didn’t try the foam brushes, but feel they would not hold up or push the epoxy in where it needed to go. Since my design is on the weekender concept, I was usually sealing the flat surface of the plywood within same time frame. I used foam rollers purchased from my epoxy supplier for this process. I would run the roller across the end-grain for good insurance and to help smooth out any runs. Anytime I had the opportunity to apply another coat to the end grain, I would. I like the idea of cutting the longer rollers into smaller ones as mentioned before when a full roller is not needed.

[doug hodder]

Also remember to "tip off" your epoxy after you have rolled it...this can be done with a brush, but is easier and cheaper with a roller that is cut in half lengthwise and then held in a spring clamp. Back drag it across the epoxy and knock down any high spots/outgassing bubbles etc... The sooner you start getting a smooth finish in the epoxy, the easier the next sanding and application is going to be. Just what I've experienced. Doug

[beevel]

Thanks everyone.

I'll be making a run to the stores this afternoon to buy rollers, gloves and brushes. Considering there are many ways to skin a cat (as shown by all of you) I will probably see what kind of rollers I can find and go from there.

I'll be shooting for the west marine rollers (but I don't know if the boat supply stores around here are open today) if I can't find them I'll probably get the shortest nap rollers I can find at home depot and work fast. I'm building the super size weekender so everything is flat and i should be able to work fairly quickly and I'm not worried about it being perfectly smooth.

I inted to work in the following order:

-I intend to do a coat of epoxy over the entire trailer
-put extra on all the end grains
-make a wood flour filler and fill any gaps that I have from my most excellent measuring ability
-fibreglass some of the seems and my inner fenders
-one more coat of epoxy over the entire trailer, maybe I third if I have any epoxy left
-apply two coats of paint, don't know what kind yet. Maybe a tremclad RV white.

Thanks everyone for all the info.

[Juneaudave]

You might want to fill those gaps with wood flour/epoxy before you put the first coat on. That's the more traditional way!!!

[beevel]

shall do....

But one coat of resin before fiberglassing the seams correct?

[doug hodder]

You can...but if you do...I'd make sure to rough it up so that the epoxy has some "tooth" to bind to...different brands of resins may require different prep methods depending on how much cure time was on the original coat...read up on what your brand requires. You might also want to do an experiment on a couple of pieces of drop to see how the application works and how to work with it...If you plan on laying any tape or cloth on it...me, I do it dry and squeegee the resin into the tape/cloth on top of bare wood...some people lay down a coat and let it cure first, then lay cloth on top after a sand, some lay the cloth down on a wetted out surface. Everyone has their own way, but the results are pretty much the same...it gets hard and you gotta sand! Doug

[Juneaudave]

Some folks believe in precoating, some don't. I am of the no precoat persuasion. Just apply the tape right over the joint...and let the wet out do it's thing.

In the for what it's worth department, a precoat is not the same as rolling on a coat of epoxy. What you want to do is just squeegee a thin layer of epoxy on...you don't want to fill the wood voids. You want that glass as close to the wood as possible, and not floating on a layer of epoxy!!!