Glen-L.com

I am just completing the final layer of mahogany on my Riviera. It will be ready for staining and sealing next week. I am using West Systems epoxy and have used it for several years on many other projects. I have always let the natural color of the wood show through. On this project, I would like to use a semi transparent stain or dye before encapsulating the hull. I am concerned about using prepared stains because of possible future problems with the epoxy. I have seen adhesion problems as well as bleeding of the color when the epoxy is applied. I have considered using aniline dye because it is a simple water based product. Unfortunately, I have never used aniline dyes before.
Does anyone have any tips/warnings for using this stuff?
Could anyone suggest an other product that they have used successfully?

Thanks,
Tom

Maybe you might want to check out this website. Mark Bronkalla built a beautiful boat that is stained under the epoxy.

http://www.bronkalla.com

Mark Bronkalla's stain was oil based. Ordinarily this is not what you want to put under epoxy however, you can sand it before epoxy and there shouldn't be any problems. This is what Mark did.

As far as aniline dyes go, you should talk to Doug Hodder. He's used these dyes on both his Zip and Malahini. You can see the results in the "Customer Photos" section of this website. Remember that aniline dyes do not have any UV protection and will turn color in direct sunlight pretty darn quick. So you should work with them indoors, or under some good shade, and have them protected before you go to the lake, or for that matter, even set the boat out in the yard to do a quick clean up on the shop.

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