West System epoxy - unbelievable !

[abl1111]

I just finished using the West System epoxy to repair my teak, louvered doors. Holy @!#$$%^ !!!

That stuff is awesome. I cannot believe how solid it can make crumbling wood !

The teak doors have many dovetail joints that keep the door together. Most of the dovetail joints had all been but cracked off from abuse and age. The door wobbled and eventually came apart. I thought that it would be easy to have some wood guy make me new ones or repair mine. Most wouldn't touch the job - and the ones that did, quoted prices in the $500-$700 range to reconstruct and or repair. That was NOT an option.

First, I repaired all the cracks in the wood by re-attaching any cracked pcs w/ the epoxy and clamps. Then, I used filler to fill any voids ( luckily there were not many and were in the backside of the door - (1) void; a 1/2" x 2" pc, I cut out and scarfed another pc of teak to fit like a puzzle. Then I laid out all the pcs ( ready for reassebly ) on a work bench and epoxied each door w/ clamps and a jig I built.

I let it go-off for a day and sanded any of the excess epoxy. I am blown away by the strength of the doors. They really look great and I did it for the cost of the epoxy, some cabosil ( thickening stuff ) and about (3-4) hours total labor --> $40 and a great finished product.

[RingLeader]

Sounds like a successful mission. Cool. You can also sand some teak with a sander that has a dust collection bag, then you can use the teak dust to mix into the epoxy resin and now you have a teak colored epoxy filler.

[FELLOW-SHIP]

I used about 13 gal of the stuff re doing my boat and love working with it. I know that the only reason my boat came out looking as good as it does was not because of my abilities in boat repair work but because this stuff was maid with me in mind. They should write a book called “Boat Repair for Dummies”.
FellowShip [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

[abl1111]

Ringleader - thx that is a great idea !!! Next time !

[jw]

Able,
Just do not forget to put a good varnish over the epoxy, as it has no uv protection in it. I use us paint spar varnish, dries quick and you can do about three coats in a day.

Just my 25Cents worth,
JW

[abl1111]

I am going to leave the teak completely bare. The amount of epxoy that will actually be exposed to UV is sooo tiny, that I do not 'think' it will give a problem. The epxoy is was used more as a glue than a filler.

I have sanded all down to 220 grit and taken out the 30+ years of someone cleaning w/ cleaners and powerwashing ( and therefore removing a lot of the soft parts of the wood - creating more surface area for oil and dirt to accumulate.).

Like anyone, I love the look of fresh varnish, but I do not want the maintenance - at all. Personally, I think teak oil is a waste of time - the beauty is fleeting. And, I don't like the look/wear of some of the oil sealers either.

Like many of the salty, Montauk fishing boats, I let the teak go silver. I was directed years ago by an old sailor to just clean the teak w/ saltwater, a little bleach ( if needed ) and some sunshine. Most important, if I use a brush to go lightly ACROSS the grain. I have been very happy w/ the look and the wood stays healthy. To each his own. I have no problem every 2-3 months cleaning it in this manor. And, when the wood gets 'aged', the silver looks really nice.

By the way. the interior teak I will oil w/ tung and linseed oil. Or, just lemon oil.

Also, I just repaired w/ the West System the rod holders on my Tsunami. Unless you look carefully, you could never tell that one of the pcs was cracked in half! And, I tried to re-crack it to withstand 'my durability test' - rock solid !