waterproofing ply

[ANGLERnotDANGLER]

hey guys
im just carpeting the floor in my tinny. i want to seal the ply before i carpet it. is it ok just to seal it with a timber primer a few times or waterproof it. if waterproofing what is a good product to use?

thanks

[bustaonenut]

Just use a good oil base paint to paint the underside and the edges. The contact glue that you use to stick down the carpet should seal the top, just put down a good thick coat with a brush or if you have a spray gun you can get a more even coat.

[ANGLERnotDANGLER]

rightio then

if i spray the top of the ply will the carpet still stick?

[Poseidon]

Go to Bunnings and look on the mis-tint shelf for any decent quality exterior paint.
Wack on a few coats and you should be fine.

The contact adhesive still adheres to paint OK.

Regards Cameron.

[Roughasguts]

Think your looking for buckled flooring if you try to seal it with paint.

Just use a pourous under coat ! even grey primer ! the thing is moisture will get in with just paint, then it gets trapped and the ply will buckle as the moisture can't get out particualy at the bottom where it needs be pourous.

Of course you could seal it with Resin, but pourous paint is fine for the bottom and use the contact glue straight on top with out painting it.

Cheers.

[ANGLERnotDANGLER]

ok thanks guys

im using kwik grip to glue the carpet, thats good enough to keep the moisture out?

[i8Krusty]

If you want a ever lasting job get a few coats of evadure on to it , follow instructions on tin ie-thin out first coat this lets it soak in and seal it up . Adhesive will stick to it , I put it on any ply near water and never had a drama.

[fRuItCaKe]

I've just done a new front hatch for my Polycraft and used plywood, just ordinary CD ply (not marine ply).

Then three coats of Marine Penetrol and three coats of white gloss enamel.

If you were to leave the ply as its natural wood then the marine penetrol does the job. Then stick the carpet on top.

I've used the ordinary Penetrol and the Marine Penetrol on all kinds of stuff and it works really well.

Chris

[cbruh1]

I forget what its called but for my tinny floor I got a clear water proofer from bunnings, it is a marine grade product that comes in a gloss finish, wack 2-3 coats of it on, let dry and your away. It comes in a liquid brush on and also a spray form, have used both and work great, Just need to put 2 or more coats on and let dry between each coat.

If I remeber what its called I will post it.

And with putting the carpet onto the ply, I used an outdoor carpet that is just like the marine carpet but alot cheaper, I then got some velcro and stuck the spine side of the velcro onto the wood and then cut the carpet to size, the carpet just get placed onto the wood, it stays down and doesn't move, and then when ur home just pull it up and hose it off, I usually just hose it off in the boat and leave it there to dry.

Had this set up for over a year now and still looks as good as new today. No rot, no sign of rot either :)

[NormC]

I have a ply floor and ply front hatch / casting platform in my tinnie. On the bottom, I did 2 or 3 coats of clear exterior wood finish. Don't remember the brand I used, but Wattyl and Cabots are both good.

For the top, I just glued the carpet down with contact cement. When I ran out, I finished the job with liquid nails.

It has worked very well. No sign of water damage to the timber at all. I work on the basis that the bottom is the most important. If you don't seal it and there is some water in the boat under the floor, the ply will absorb it and rot. Even if the top gets wet, it will dry out very quickly.

Norm C

[Ally Jack]

You want to be using a resin to seal the floor. I used a 2 pac stuf made by Wattyl and the floor and casting decks look just as good as they did 2 years ago when they went in.

Ally Jack

[Ron173]

I sealed the floor in a previous Stacer, lifted it and did with good marine varnish etc.

When i traded it, dealer told me not to do it to new one!

If you seal it the water from rain/ spray / wash etc, cannot run out of it and thru into bilge, so it will rot.

[Nico.d.R]

i used 2pac on the tops and sides and primer on the bottom , the contact sticks to the 2pac really well and no moisture will get into the ply from the top and if it does it will get out threw the bottom of the ply .
fruitcake CD structural ply is the same as marine ply (glue) it just has more knots in the sheets than the marine ply and its half the price .

cheers nico

[Scott nthQld]

I recently re did my floor in the boat. I used Bondcrete, diluted with water 3:1 (water to bondcrete) on both sides, and a stronger mix of 2:1 for the edges. Apply 3-4 coats, allowing to dry between coats, doing an area 2.3*1.8 m I used about 750ml of bondcrete.

To glue the carpet, I used Gel Bond by parfix, same stuff as selleys (in fact made by selleys) but rebadged for Bunnings. Apply gel bond to both surfaces allow to go a bit tacky to touch and then stick together, fold around to the underside, glue with more gel bond and staple to the underside of the boards.

Kwik Grip, though essentially the same is not water proof and bonded surfaces will part after a while, so use the proper stuff.

When cutting the new boards, make sure you make an allowance for the thickness of the carpet as well, even though the carpet is only a couple mm thick, it still makes a big difference if in the overall scheme of things.

Sealing the boards will not stop them rotting eventually, but they will last a hell of a lot longer than an unsealed board. Sealing the timber will stop water soaking in, so there will be no water to get out.

Don't go the the extra expense and get marine ply, just use form ply or Sturctural CD Ply, the only difference between marine ply and CD ply is the timber, more often than not, marine ply is made from maple, where as CD ply and form ply are pine, the glues used in manufacture are exactly the same product.

Don't forget to seal the edges of any holes you may cut for seats etc, the cut edges will need a few coats of bondcrete as well.

[fRuItCaKe]

fruitcake CD structural ply is the same as marine ply (glue) it just has more knots in the sheets than the marine ply and its half the price .

cheers nico


Yep understand that. Our local supplier said the sheets are hand picked to aviod voids and knots. Damn right about the price too !!;D