The Clear Epoxy Resin - Marine Epoxy Resin -

Table Bar Top Epoxy Resin Page

FYI: catalog pages are blue (marine) or yellow (home/induct), info pages are green, product pages are purple, core pages are gray

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Paul Oman, MS, MBA - Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc. - (floor epoxies, marine epoxies, underwater epoxies, repair epoxies)

Member: NACE (National Assoc. of Corrosion Engineers), SSPC (Soc. of Protective Coatings)

Board member: Friends of the Suncook River - 501(c)(3) non profit ----- Founder: Friday Night Paddlers .

"Professionals helping Professionals since 1994"

Clear Epoxy Resin and Non-Epoxy Clear Resin Coat Options

Marine Epoxy

Table Top Epoxy

Bar Top Epoxy

Low Viscosity Epoxy

Commercial Grade - Contractor Grade

There are lots of reasons for putting a clear coat finish over surfaces and even more clear coat products to select from. Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc. offers several options, from epoxies to polyurethanes, to acrylics. Let's look at these options and hopefully determine which is best suited for your needs.

Clear epoxies are often used as a sealer and topcoat over decorative epoxy - colored sand (or vinyl chip) flooring systems. They also find their way on to table and bar tops and over fine woods (for that shiny - glassy look). The problem is that there is really no such thing as a stable clear epoxy. They soon turn an unattractive yellow and often get cloudy besides. They certainly lose their shiny very quickly too. All this is a result of exposure to the sun's UV radiation (More on UV blockers). The best solution is to keep your clear epoxy out of direct sun and it will stay clear. Unfortunately, that's often not possible.

So why even mess with clear epoxy resins? Floor applicators like them because the typical solvent-free clear epoxy is basically odorless - an important factor in large indoor areas. Epoxies also provide good sealing and waterproof properties, as well as chemical resistance and when new and shiny they look great.

Getting the ultimate - longest lasting clear finish for your boat or furniture - results of a 1.5 year test

For about a year and a half I've been testing various urethanes, varnishes etc. to discover which will work best at sealing and maintaining its shine outside. My test platform was a wood slotted park bench I owned. My test zones where the right and left halves of the seat slots and the left and right half of the backrest - about 12 different ‘zones'. The bench was coated and left outside in New Hampshire for 2 summers and 1 winter (buried under the snow). The coatings consisted of our traditional spar varnish (we sell it as India Spar Varnish) , a clear polyurethane from Home Depot, our clear watery Low V epoxy, our 2 part (LPU) clear polyurethane with UV blockers and absorbers. Multiple coats of each were used and multiple products on each slot (except on the backrest where varnish was used on one side and poly on the other).

The absolute worst product was the Home Depot one part polyurethane. It failed and peeled miserably.

The best products were the epoxy and the varnish and the 2 part clear polyurethane (our Acrylic Poly UV Plus). For years we have been telling folks that vanish over clear epoxy was a winning combination. I learned that from maintaining the brightwork on a sailboat located on Galveston Bay for 10 years. Seal the wood with the epoxy and then protect the epoxy with varnish. This test proved how good that system works. The half slot still looked bright, shiny and new. The slot with the epoxy, varnish and the 2 part clear poly looked just as good. I suspect over time t(another year or two) his one would have been the winner as the 2 part poly is tougher than the varnish and should hold up better over time. The other combination of coatings all feel someplace in-between. All products really like having an epoxy base. The water- based product lost its shine and just didn't hold up as well as the other products (which matches my experiences with most other water based coatings).

So if I were going to clear coat a big wooden sailboat mast that wasn't going to get any additional TLC for a few years, how would I coat it?

1) one or more coats of our solvent thinned clear epoxy primer (ESP 155). The solvents help seal the wood and penetrate below the surface. This is important as I have found the coatings (even epoxies) begin to fail on edges and corners where air and moisture can get under the coatings. Anyway, begin by sealing with a solvent thinned epoxy primer.

2) I would then add 2 or 3 coats of our watery, clear, solvent free epoxy called Low V. This product could be solvent thinned too and used in place of the solvent based epoxy primer (ESP 155) mentioned above, but I would personally rather use the ESP 155 as I suspect it would penetrate better. The Low V epoxy in this step provides a serious barrier coat to the wood and adds film thickness. Film thickness is a good thing, it keeps scratches and nicks away from the wood.

3) Next would be 3 or 4 coats of varnish. I have never noticed a difference between marine varnish, spar varnish, or ‘varnish' from the hardware store (albeit I haven't done any tests). The varnish protects the epoxy and gives the surface a ‘warm' look and feel. It also adds more film thickness.

4) You could stop here and be very happy with the results for perhaps several years. However, I would suggest 2 or 3 coats of our 2 part clear poly on top of the varnish. The UV blockers and absorbers will protect all the coatings below it. The toughness of the poly should also protect the softer varnish under it. My tests show good bonding with the varnish (probably because of the large amounts of strong solvents in the 2 part polys, they chemically etch into the varnish, offering both a mechanical and chemical bond). When applied just over the epoxy, there was a bit of whiteness present, not the case when applied over the varnish (probably more ‘fusing' between the softer varnish and the 2 part poly that provided a better "air/moisture" seal. Note that the 2 part poly layers are very thin, not much protective additional film thickness.

Learn all about spar varnish - www.epoxyproducts.com/varnish.html

So remember, varnish over epoxy. Always. Our two part clear poly is unique because of its UV blockers and absorbers and not available any place else. It should serve as a good, long lasting protective coating for the varnish.

Clear Products offered by Progressive Epoxy Polymers

Our Low V epoxy is our recommended epoxy for sealing or as a penetrating epoxy when solvent is added. Clear, with just a trace of amber color. A very popular, general purpose, low viscosity, clear epoxy. Will bond to damp surfaces. Fast 'time to hard'. Also used as a primer on porous surfaces and under polyurethanes.

 action shot with IJN Kongo, IJN Nagato and DKM Bismark battling

three of over 50 model war ships sealed with Low V epoxy

see nwci.org

Mix really well - with parts A and B so thin and clear it is very easy to mix poorly and have uneven mixing within the same batch. This will produce tacky sections that never get completely hard and tack free.

Note: We have seen this product fisheye on old wood surfaces that have been 'bleached' and then stained. The oils in the stain or 'teak oil' (perhaps something in the wood bleach, I don't know) seem to remain in the wood despite solvent washing, sanding etc. Old teak trim is a good example. We've seen Low V fisheye on old teak being refinished that seemed to be 'weathered down to just wood'. I think the fix would be (not tested) to 'seal' the wood from the epoxy, say with a coat of solvent thinned varnish which would not be as affected by residual oils.

EMAIL (FEB 06): Hello:

I just bought some of your Low V epoxy and it is superior in every way to the system 3 products I (formerly) used, their clear coat and mirror coat.

Less money, better adhesion, better flow, better release of trapped gas, clarity, speed of cure, and machineability. It's like night and day, and their product is nothing to laugh at!

Great Product, I will buy *whatever* I need from you in the future.....

GREG

MOST COMMONLY USED EPOXY FOR TABLE AND BAR TOPS (edges can be routered round) - SEE WEBSITE ON THIS INCLUDING WARNING, DIRECTIONS, OPTIONS, ETC - GO TO: WWW.EPOXYPRODUCTS.COM/BARTOP.HTML

Our Basic No Blush Marine Epoxy Resin, along with our Bio Clear 810 clear bar top epoxy resin are our two most clear epoxies. Note that all epoxies turn yellow in sunlight and even just over time.

THIS PRODUCT CANNOT BE BRUSHED/ROLLED ON AS A PAINT OR SEALER COAT. IT WILL 'dimple', 'creep', 'crawl' (whatever you want to call it) IF USED IN THIS MANNER. Use with fiberglass cloth, over broadcast non-slip surfaces, and with all epoxy thickeners and fillers. Especially recommended for mixing with our copper powder. It also works great as a poured, thick surface (i.e. table tops, etc. due to its low yellowing and clarity. This epoxy does maintain a certain degree of flex. This is a blushing (amine blush) epoxy. Sold in 3 gal kits and 15 gallon 'commercial' units.

CLICK HERE TO GOTO OUR USER NOTES SECTION: FEEDBACK FROM FOLKS WHO HAVE USED THIS AND OUR OTHER PRODUCTS.

Quick Buy -- BASIC NO BLUSH (tm) MARINE EPOXY RESIN -- Now

Protecting clear epoxies with marine spar varnish

Those show-piece wood strip canoes and kayaks, and sometimes the varnished bright work wood trim on yachts are sealed or built with any of the clear epoxies mentioned above. A few coats of varnish (pretty much any kind of varnish works) over the epoxy will protect the epoxy from UV damage. The epoxy seals the wood better and longer than the varnish, while the varnish protects the wood and bonds long term better to the hard epoxy than it does to the porous wood - a great win-win combination. I've tried all the other UV protecting topcoats over clear epoxy and for that mirror yacht gloss nothing works as well as varnish. Unfortunately, traditional varnish is being phased out. Find out why - Click Here.

Our Premium No Blush  (tm) epoxy is similar to the Basic No Blush but uses an amber non-hazmat curing agent that allows us to send it overseas by air....

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Frog Pond Hollow

48 Wildwood Drive

Pittsfield, NH 03263

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