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Guys,

I have a couple more questions. I'm working on an aft cabin wall and going with 3/4" Airex Baltek fiber-reinforced structural boards. These are basically Penski boards as Baltek bought Penski.

I was planning on putting two layers of mat on each side. Formica and paint on the exterior over the mat, and teak plywood on the interior over the mat (1/8" or 1/4" teak plywood). Planning on using polyester resin as we have it available at the shop. I had also thought about just faring the exterior but felt the Formica would save a fair amount of work.

First question, will polyester resin bond to the Formica similar to how Capt. Pat does his bulkheads with epoxy?

Second question, would I need the two layers of mat on the Formica side or could I just adhere the Formica directly to the Baltek board?

I'm pretty sure I won't have a problem installing the interior teak over the mat. I'm thinking thickened polyester resin there. (OK maybe that's three questions)

Thanks in advance. You don't know how much this rookie appreciates your advice.

Daniel

Daniel,

Polyester resin is NOT an adhesive.

For both the teak and the formica you must use epoxy. There's no practical reason to glass either side if they're to be overlaid with either teak or formica. Just prime all surfaces with thin, but fully wet, epoxy then laminate with a thickened mix of epoxy and cabosil.

Be sure to use a brand new sheet of formica that doesn't have any warp or curl to it...

Br,

Patrick

EPOXY...BH

Thanks again gentlemen. That was a question I almost didn't ask...

Need to resurrect this older post. I got side tracked on the back bulkhead, but it looks like I'll be able to get back on it this week, and I have another question.

Patrick mention priming all surfaces with a thin but wet coat of epoxy then adhere the laminate with the thicken epoxy. Is there a min and/or max time frame I should wait between applying the first thin coat to wet everything out and when I apply the thickened epoxy & cabosil? Can I do both in one evening?

Daniel,

I prefer to let the prime coat tack up a few hours before the lamination is done, but yes, you can do the two steps back to back without any wait time at all.

It's more important that you don't wait too long and not get a cross link than it is to shorten the time between steps...

Enjoyed your visit laast month and meeting your wife and son. Come on over anytime.

Br,

Patrick