Staining transom before applying epoxy?

This is the place for everything that doesn't fit elsewhere.
Post Reply
George Navarre

Staining transom before applying epoxy?

Post by George Navarre »

I have a construction question: I'm building a Rice Lake Skiff and at a critical stage with the transom. I constructed the transom out of two sheets of 3/4" marine plywood but want to stain before applying the epoxy. Anyone knowledgable about stain in-so-far as which to use (water based, oil based, etc.) to the epoxy will adhere to the transom?

George Navarre
Richmond, OH
User avatar
Glen Smith
Posts: 3719
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 9:08 am
Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada

Post by Glen Smith »

Hi George, West System have a lot of info available on their website and through their magazine which is now online. Epoxy over stains is discussed in issue 21 and if you browse through other back issues I'm sure you will find other things of interest.
http://www.epoxyworks.com/21/index21.html
User avatar
mtpocket
Posts: 562
Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2004 2:48 pm
Location: Indiana

Post by mtpocket »

Another option is Aniline Dye. A multitude of colors are available ranging from one end of the rainbow to the other. Woodworker's Supply has them in stock and shipping takes about four days. One ounce of powder (by weight) makes one quart of liquid. A one ounce container costs $9.00.
Cyril Gosse
Posts: 43
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2006 7:05 pm
Location: Sicamous BC

Post by Cyril Gosse »

My experience with aniline dye is that in a short time it will fade when exposed to light. I made toys for several years and used aniline dye with three or four coats of commercial lacquer I found that blues and reds were especially prone to fadeing. Maybe the UV protection of the varnish will prevent the fadeing but more likely it will only slow the process down.
On the other side of the coin, the faded colour looked antique on the wooden toys and sales went through the roof.
Post Reply