Epoxy Sealant on Plywood: a cautionary tale
- Thread starter cvermeulen
- Start date
This is a common problem with resins. They are designed to form rigidity, while fiberglass creates strength. Using one without the other is rarely a good idea. Resin should be applied as lightly as possible. Lay in fiberglass, wet with resin, squeegee to remove bubbles and excess resin. A very light layer of thinned resin (10% alcohol usually works) could be used to seal a porous material like plywood, but it needs to be absorbed into the material. This is definitely a case of more is not better.
Quikrete 20 lb. Anchoring Cement
What do you think about putting a thin layer of cement inside a plywood build. I'm thinking about laying the tank on it's side, pouring anchoring cement, letting it dry, turn the tank on another side, pour again, etc. Since it's anchoring cement, it should bond to itself. After that, epoxy or pond armor it.
What do you think about putting a thin layer of cement inside a plywood build. I'm thinking about laying the tank on it's side, pouring anchoring cement, letting it dry, turn the tank on another side, pour again, etc. Since it's anchoring cement, it should bond to itself. After that, epoxy or pond armor it.
Most of what you said is true, but this doesn't really make sense.
Either way, yes using a fabric reinforcement of some kind is a requirement if you want it to hold up over the long haul. Most resin is not designed to perform in the way it's being used here.
On the bright side, the refurbishment of this tank is proceeding at a plodding but steady pace!
I know it's impolite to answer a question with a question... but why WOULD you do this? It sounds like a disaster.
1) Weight would be atrocious
2) Concrete is extremely weak and brittle. Unless you were to use steel mesh, it would break apart and crumble.
3) Pond armor/polyester/epoxy seals just fine to plywood, and holds up wonderfully if glass (or other) reinforcement is used. What you're talking about is adding another layer in there that really doesn't accomplish anything other than making the tank heavy, time consuming and more expensive to build.
I wouldn't do this either.
Hmmmm, I was thinking that there wouldn't be too much weight, because the cement would only be a thin liner on top of the plywood. It looks like I have the wrong thread here, but someone was mentioning that the Pond Armor product does not adhere well to wood, according to the people he was talking to. I can't seem to find the thread, though. When I'm reading MFK, I usually have like 50 tabs open 
Anyway, the suggestion was to get around the pond armor on wood "problem", but if you're disagreeing with that premise, there's no point to it.
Anyway, the suggestion was to get around the pond armor on wood "problem", but if you're disagreeing with that premise, there's no point to it.
