Colored Epoxy and UV Protection

Flump · **Posted:** Sun Mar 22, 2009 9:24 pm

Hi Guys,
I've just been and bought some colors to mix with my epoxy, big question is, do I still need to varnish the finished epoxy to give UV protection? I guess this also applies to graphite powder blends, any issues with UV epoxy degradation if you don't varnish?

Can't find answers any where on the net so any help appreciated

Cheers......Nick

jem · **Posted:** Sun Mar 22, 2009 9:35 pm

I'd say you'll want some UV protection over the epoxy especially if you have a translucent color.

The surface will cloud without any UV protection. You don't really notice it with the graphite since it's such a dark color.

Bemm 52 · **Posted:** Mon Mar 23, 2009 2:34 am

jem wrote:

The surface will cloud without any UV protection.

Matt....... Does the clouding effect the strength or water proffing abilitys of the epoxy

olsnappa · **Posted:** Mon Mar 23, 2009 3:20 am

Hi Nick.
I used a transparent dye in the final epoxy coat on my Cape Fear build.
This stuff. From Aldax Moulds

I didn't count on it providing UV resistance so finished of with a couple of coats of good marine varnish.
A small price to pay as insurance if in doubt.
What brand of dye did you get?

jem · **Posted:** Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:48 am

Bemm 52 wrote:

jem wrote:

The surface will cloud without any UV protection.

Matt....... Does the clouding effect the strength or water proofing abilitys of the epoxy

The very surface layer will begin to break down over the long-term. You'll end up having to sand it off and recoat. It would take many months of direct, unrelenting sunlight before would become a structural issue. But it would eventually become an issue.

The thing that motivates me the most is having sand everything. To me, that worth the extra time to apply some paint or varnish.

Kayak Jack · **Posted:** Thu Apr 09, 2009 7:46 pm

UV protection on the bottom is probably not needed, nor a good idea? For one thing, it is under water and not upright in the sun. For another, varnish is way softer than epoxy, especially epoxy fortified with powdered graphite. Also, scraping etc. during paddling means it will likely have to be sanded and refinished more often than the upper part. So, a paddler would just have to sand off an expensive layer that wasn't needed in the first place.

JEM Watercraft

Colored Epoxy and UV Protection

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