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Ok so the answer to my question is probably somewhere buried in all the volumes of posts. The biggest problem is that there are two answers.

The question: Is CPES an absolute must before encapsulation.

I gather that there are 2 schools of thought here from what I have seen by browsing the forum. From the small amounts that people report that they use, to me it seems a little dubious that it does a whole lot more than epoxy alone. Especially as epoxy penetrates quite well into raw wood. And I saw one post of someone who did a test and cut through it and it showed approximately equal penetration. So what do I believe?

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Ches

Well, here is my take from pure experience

1. If you are using an oil based stain, you MUST seal it in. CPES works wonders. If you don't, your encapsulation epoxy will NOT stick to the stain.

2. I have found CPES also works wonders to stop outgassing of the wood. The rule is to apply your encapsulation when the temps are falling to stop the gases in the wood from working their way out and causing air bubbles in the epoxy. The CPES fills the pores of the wood and stops the outgassing which allows the application of the encapsulation epoxy any time you are ready. I found this particularly helpful with the tight time frame I imposed on myself for construction.

Some have found thinning their normal epoxy with acetone and applying a sealant coat to do the same thing. The instructions state to never mix more than a 10% solution of acetone but I have seen guys go as high as 50%. Time will tell if they made a fatal error but so far so good after a number of years of usage with their boats. I do not recommend that much dilution.

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Dave

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Hi everyone,
I've been using CPES actually System -3 version of this. It goes on great and penetrates very very well. My question is: how to get the splatters off my very expensive prescription lenses.
Graham

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I am presently constructing a Glen-L HERCULES, hull basically complete.Am going to fiberglass and paint bottom and then turn over. Sides to be planked with10mm yellow cedar edged bead and cove . Engine is Mitsubihi 4-cyl. 39 crankshaft hp.

I never used CPES, didnt even hear of the stuff till halfway through. Just encapsulated with regular glen-l poxy-shield.

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I have to second Dave on using CPES over oil based stain. I did an experiment where I glassed over oil based stain. One side was treated with CPES first and the other wasn't. I left taps of glass over hanging at the corners so I could get a good grip. Here are the results.

The side without CPES



This side with CPES. The cloth tore and even took off the the first layer of the plywood.



Also according to the makers of CPES using their product on would that will only be varnised it creates a better build up.

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