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Link to Epoxy Rollers?


PadrePoint

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I’d like to try rolling on epoxy and following up with a light brush. I tried this when I first starting building my boats in 2020, but I found the foam rollers I bought quickly became saturated, kind of just smeared along the surface instead of rolling, and the foam broke down. I’ve relied on brushing since.  
 

I’ve wondered about trying a roller with a short nap instead of foam… just haven’t tried it yet. And, I suppose using a wide plastic spreader on larger surfaces would also be a good alternative to brushing only. 

I’d appreciate any suggestions, thoughts, or a link to a product that has worked well for evenly applying epoxy to a larger surface. 

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  • PadrePoint changed the title to Link to Epoxy Rollers?

These are my go to roller heads.  The candy stripe  i s  your typical Mohair head and the Epoxy Glue is a blend of what appears to be a synthetic blend hair, which is a bit shorter. I also cut them in half and use them on the smaller frames instead of buying the smaller ones. You get almost two for one for the price. I trim any fuzz off the edges before rolling with the cut ones. I have never had them come apart.

DSC09053.JPG

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We also use the wooster ones at the shop. (These). We like to buy the 7" ones and cut them in half on the bandsaw for use on a 3" roller cage. 

https://bandbyachtdesigns.com/wooster-brush-r730-7-tiz-foam-roller-cover-1-8-inch-nap-2-pack-7-inch/

 

two 7" rollers for $2.90 gives you four  3.5" rollers for about $0.75 each

 

They are about 1/8" foam over cardboard and usually last through about 2-3 epoxy batches before the foam starts to get all floppy and then we just toss. 

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I shoulda first checked the B&B website… of course.  Best price by far from what I can see in some looking around. 

 

I’ll make an order… and add a few items to it for good measure. 👍


And… “all floppy” is the exact technical term I was searching for when I tried describing, in full original post, my first epoxy-rolling experience.  Thanks for expanding my vocabulary.  😁

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I haven't tried those grey ones yet but with a plastic core they probably hold up longer than the foam ones for sure but you can get a pretty smooth finish with the yellow ones. For coating flat parts on a table however I've started just using a wide chip brush and doing a "flood coat" pretty thick and just brushing it out as smooth as I can. Wouldn't do that if i was going for extreme weight savings but it's a one and done method. If you can still see the wood fibers, pour on some more! I also sand the wood if I'm going to do that with 220 grit to keep the fuzzy grain rise to a minimum. 

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Yes for sure just as good if the thickness of epoxy is equal.  The problem is that it's hard to know if the thickness is even throughout without kind of overdoing it in spots. Multiple thin coats ensures a good even thickness everywhere but some of us get impatient. Thickness of epoxy is the most important thing for a good barrier coat to protect the wood from moisture. One other way to achieve a consistent thickness barrier coat is to just glass the wood even if not needed for strength a layer of say 6oz cloth over plywood necessitates a certain amount of epoxy to fill the weave and therefore ensures a good barrier coat. Glassing the ply as a means to an end (getting a decent coat of epoxy on the surface) is just another trick that sometimes makes sense to use. 

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