Old Gold and WOOD ROT.
Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2015 5:23 am
Hey All !
At 53, my definition of an "old-timer" is forcibly starting to change... I swear that mentally I'm 26 or so, and I just can't seem to believe in the number 53. So.....
Anyway, I ran across a bit of sage-ness from an old-timer, in trying to fix my son's birthday present: a Hobie 18 catamaran. It has a few soft-spots that I'll be looking into. The old timer {in quite the scientific fashion}, showed both scientific studies, and years of experience in the Marine industry, in several examples of the best chemicals to use when coming up against WOOD ROT. Guess what the best chemical was....Ethylene Glycol, otherwise known as Antifreeze. It seems that antifreeze penetrates even better into wood than water, and once in the cellular structure, doesn't leave. His memorable example was that he had a clearly rotted section around a hole that used to hold a bolt in his boat {yeah... THAT never happens). The wood was saturated with water, and terribly punky to touch.
He soaked it in Antifreeze, and in 24 hours, it was completely dry. This confused him a little, until he realized the antifreeze -which loves water- had carried the water further into the wood... into the good wood... so much so, it sucked all moisture out of the rotted area, which was then dry, and crumbled in his hands. The article he presented also illustrated that Antifreeze is one of the few chemicals that will not inhibit glues or epoxies after treatment. Really great information. The other product I keep hearing about is GitRot, which is a ultra thin epoxy that will wick into punky wood by capillary attraction. The larger discussion in the article, was that GitRot won't {stop rot}. It will help the rotted area become solid again, but the Rot itself is an infection... and if untreated, it will continue on. So... first, Antifreeze to kill the infection, then GitRot epoxy to solid it up after the Antifreeze dries it out. *So cool.... the old-timers bring the Gold.
One day ~ahem~ very soon, I may be the guy that brings the Gold
Thanx!
Bill Williams
At 53, my definition of an "old-timer" is forcibly starting to change... I swear that mentally I'm 26 or so, and I just can't seem to believe in the number 53. So.....
Anyway, I ran across a bit of sage-ness from an old-timer, in trying to fix my son's birthday present: a Hobie 18 catamaran. It has a few soft-spots that I'll be looking into. The old timer {in quite the scientific fashion}, showed both scientific studies, and years of experience in the Marine industry, in several examples of the best chemicals to use when coming up against WOOD ROT. Guess what the best chemical was....Ethylene Glycol, otherwise known as Antifreeze. It seems that antifreeze penetrates even better into wood than water, and once in the cellular structure, doesn't leave. His memorable example was that he had a clearly rotted section around a hole that used to hold a bolt in his boat {yeah... THAT never happens). The wood was saturated with water, and terribly punky to touch.
He soaked it in Antifreeze, and in 24 hours, it was completely dry. This confused him a little, until he realized the antifreeze -which loves water- had carried the water further into the wood... into the good wood... so much so, it sucked all moisture out of the rotted area, which was then dry, and crumbled in his hands. The article he presented also illustrated that Antifreeze is one of the few chemicals that will not inhibit glues or epoxies after treatment. Really great information. The other product I keep hearing about is GitRot, which is a ultra thin epoxy that will wick into punky wood by capillary attraction. The larger discussion in the article, was that GitRot won't {stop rot}. It will help the rotted area become solid again, but the Rot itself is an infection... and if untreated, it will continue on. So... first, Antifreeze to kill the infection, then GitRot epoxy to solid it up after the Antifreeze dries it out. *So cool.... the old-timers bring the Gold.
One day ~ahem~ very soon, I may be the guy that brings the Gold
Thanx!
Bill Williams