What marine epoxy to get???

kyryah

kyryah

Getting my mojo back....
Feb 3, 2009
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Michigan
tortnet.darchorizons.com
I have been googling and reading all day and at this point my eyes and my fingers are sore, lol.

Two part question here -

I need a marine epoxy that cures non-toxic and can hold up to constant submersion. (Actually it will just be a very humid environment, but lets pretend it is submerged. ;) )

It will be applied to wood, and I want it to be either black or a very dark green.

So -

Do I find an already colored epoxy, and if so, what do you guys recommend?

OR

Do I paint the wood the color that I want, and then top coat with the epoxy? Will this allow for maximum adhesion and waterproofing of the wood?

I know this crap is gonna cost me, I have been looking at prices all day, but - I don't want to break the bank here. I have four, yes four 12' X 3' enclosures that I have to paint with this stuff. I need it to be right the first time.

Thanks in advance guys!
 
Really? I was pretty dang sure that some people had built plywood tanks and used this stuff, but I couldn't find the threads. I wasn't expecting no answer at all, however.
 
I've used Sweetwater epoxy paint, and MAS marine epoxy. I was very happy with both. The Sweetwater paint is more of an opaque finish. The MAS stuff is clear and you tint it with acrylic paint so you can really get it any color you want, but unless you do 5-6 coats, its more of a translucent finish. I thought it was pretty cool since I was doing a FW turtle habitat, so the tinted epoxy let the plywood grain show through a little bit and left some variation in the color. The MAS is also low VOC; I did it inside in the winter and didn't have any issues with fumes. It was also cheaper.

Original build thread here, with the MAS: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108365


Thread on redoing the tank with Sweetwater epoxy paint: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=184645
 
Sweetwater Epoxy paint - $74/gal, 1gal/250 sq ft@4mil, $.30/sq ft

MAS Epoxy (low-vis resin and slow cure hardener) - $~200/1.5gal, they don't provide coverage data

So, never mind, the MAS is more expensive. I think it worked out to be cheaper because I only used a half gallon of resin and a quart of hardener, and it was slightly cheaper than the Sweetwater without the waste because you can only get the Sweetwater in the gallon kits.
 
AHA - thanks boys, that is the kind of info I needed :)

Sounds like the MAS is the way I want to go - what I am building are actually tortoise habitats, but they will have auto misters and will need to be waterproof.
 
If you go with the MAS system, use the Low Viscosity resin.
If I recall correctly you live near some fair sized lakes. There should be an inland marina in the area that stocks epoxies.

 
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