Plywood sink. Sealing the corners

West System (and no doubt others) sell a wood dust that you mix with their epoxy resin to create something like caulk you pipe out in a piping bag. Cures rock hard and reinforces everything very well. In my case, I piped it into the corners and used a dowel to create the curve along the corners. From there I put down some fiberglass and then a few coats of resin. Probably overkill, but I always tend to overdue things. I'd say with all the movement in and out during sessions, you probably want some thing a bit more durable. If you do the whole thing make sure the wood is nice and dry before doing the exterior. Good luck.

OK, just done some calling around. I can get the West System epoxy locally. Probably not as cheap as you guys in the US, but its about the same as buying normal epoxy primer, which really needs an enamel top coat.

For those of you who have used it, what type of coverage did you get on the Ply (considering I am not using fibreglass matting)? I am looking at a total of around 1.4M sq (15 ft sq) for the tub (coating the top side of the bottom only + all edges of the sides).

I don't understand the need for expensive epoxies, fiberglass, etc unless people are using 1/4" plywood. Get stout plywood and apply something waterproof. Its not going to leak and its not going to break.

Wayne said:

I don't understand the need for expensive epoxies, fiberglass, etc unless people are using 1/4" plywood. Get stout plywood and apply something waterproof. Its not going to leak and its not going to break.

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+1 Yup

Y'know, you're probably right and I probably thought the same until recently. But, I looked at the condition of the previous bench that I was using in the darkroom and how its swollen in a few places (remember, this is just a bench, not a sink) and how its sagging and decided why not do the job properly this time. And since I am doing it properly, why not coat it properly.

In all honesty, I am probably going to spend $60AUD ($45USD) on epoxy, which in the grand scheme of things, isn't really that much.

But YMMV.

AgX said:

So, is there any benefit by using fiber-reinforced-resin?

At least you could make the the nicest edges you can imagine.

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I use to work with fiberglass when I was younger so like to put a bit of pride in my work. There is a problem with thick risen coatings in that quick extreme changes of water temp. can crack it .

mike c said:

I use to work with fiberglass when I was younger so like to put a bit of pride in my work. There is a problem with thick risen coatings in that quick extreme changes of water temp. can crack it .

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I've used West System for a couple boats I've built, it's applied in thin coats. Neither my cedar stripper canoe or my stitch and glue pram have had any issues since construction over a quarter century ago. I helped build several stitch and glue pirogues that have been finished using West System, never had any issues if applied correctly, never heavy coats.