JEM Watercraft

So I have read about several methods of finishing, from painting to varnish to just leaving the epoxy alone.

Which is preferred? If the grain is even half way decent I'd just as soon leave it visable. But that's assuming I don't have any errors that I need to hide.

you need to paint or varnish.

Leaving the epoxy uncovered will lead to it eventualy getting a cloudy look to it.

Let me go one step further down the road or one paddle stroke further down the river.

Paint is a cover all , it hides everything , the wood grain , the mistakes , all of it , the good and the bad. Think of it as an overcoat that you might wear in the winter.

As far as the bad , the builder knows where they are and someone looking at the boat will not notice them , they are not as picky as the ones of us who build the boats and know what we have done.

Sun block is what you would use in the summer at the lake to protect yourself , the varnish is the same for your boat. It lets the natural beauty of the wood show which I like to think is why we make the boats.
Besides with them being something we can build and make the way we want for a lot less then something off a showroom that some sales man makes us think we like.

As Matt said .... " Paint or varnish " If you varnish it . DO NOT USE MIN WAX Varnish.. It is really bad and something you will be cussing about a little while down the road when it starts peeling , it is nasty stuff.
Get some good varnish like Captains Z-Spar.

Chuck.

Oldsparkey wrote:...If you varnish it . DO NOT USE MIN WAX Varnish.. It is really bad and something you will be cussing about a little while down the road when it starts peeling , it is nasty stuff.
Get some good varnish like Captains Z-Spar.

(Mark the day on your calendars) I agree with Chuck. Avoid Min-Wax like the plague; get Z-Spar.

(There, that wasn't too painful.)

As a person who has made furniture I fully understand the difference in utilizing paint and or clear coats.
However I just learned that epoxy will cloud over from the sun's rays, and have decided that I will aim for a varnish finish. IE I hope to build well enough to avoid having to paint the hull.

Update; I went to Lowes last night to look at the woods available. Luan was available but after digging through the first 15 sheets and not finding a single one that was what I deemed as 'good' I walked away. There are several smaller lumber shops/hardware stores near by that I can look in as well.
The biggest problem I notice with the luan at Lowes was that the either on one side or the other, and in some cases on both sides there was areas that the top coating of wood was missing. You could clearly see the pink glue. That's not something I would like showing on either side of the canoe.

One more point about unprotected epoxy, it will cloud over to start with... then it will fall apart, literally. The varnish that you use MUST have U.V. filters in it. (it will say it on the tin)

As the others have already pointed out, Z-Spar is excelent.