I am looking for something that will dry with the hardness, resiliency and basic texture of a baked on porcelain enamel - but I need to apply it to wood. Specifically, marine grade plywood. I need a clear version and a tinted/colored version. It needs to be waterproof. Is there some epoxy or other material I can use?
i doubt you will get the hardness of baked on epoxy from any sprayed or brushed on substance. in order to overcome this deficiency you will need to use multiple thin coats.
Is this going on something that is going to flex if so you do not want a porcalain finish as Spider Goat has mentioned you would want a Polyester Resin that will flex and give as well as be water resistant.
It will flex it has too or it will rip it's self apart. the flex is not really noticable but it does flex. All building materials will if they dont they get stress factures eventually and fall to pieces.
Both of those resins can flex more than that easily, especially when relatively thin (less than 1/8"). Of course, the hardness won't come close to real enamel.
Yes I know this is what I am saying is the Polyester resins and epoxy is far better then enamel. If the use he is going for needs to be flexible.
It will not flex. It has a surface with multipe contours. What kinf od epoxy? Aren't there many different types? I know nothing about epoxy. Polyester resin? Is that like polyurethane? That look would work, but I would like it harder than that. I want it to feel very much like baked-on enamel. I don't see how prefabricating an enamel on brass would work. The enamel gets fused with the metal - how would I get it off? Once I did, how would I attach it to the wood surface? I think it has to be some sort of spray or paint on finish that will harden.
I would love to use glass, but the complex, contours in the surface would make it pretty much impossible - I'd have to use molten glass, which would, of course, burn the wood.
Have you thought of Powder coating it it is a fairly low temperature the wood should be able to take it with out burning. And a powder coated surface is very tough.
ok..is it possible to create a mold for it so you can create the glass surface for it then attach the glass..
There are many different types of epoxy, but you would start with a clear one suited to your conditions, and tint it to match the color you want. Polyester resin is very similar, but not as suited to water conditions, which is what I assumed when you spoke of marine-grade plywood. If you want to go with real enamel (which is glass fused to metal), you would fabricate the metal to match your contours, do the enameling in a kiln, and then attach the metal/enamel to the wood with screws or glue. There are two-part epoxy paints that could also work. Is it one color or multiple? Powder coatings require a metal substrate, since it uses electrostatic attraction to coat the metal initially with powder.
Something is rather odd here. You have "complex contours" made out of marine grade plywood??? How did you do that? "Complex contours"? Perhaps that means something much different to you than it does to me? Okay, with all that said .....why not make this thingie out of molded and reinforced fibreglas? Fibreglas loves "complex contours". Baron Max
Actually powder coating does not require metal substrate it requires a positive negative charge to transfer the powder from the electrostatic gun to the substrate. You can achieve this is many ways one of which is a brine coating it is used widely in the Automotive field for Plastics. Or you can get the wood wet and the powder will transfer this however is not a recommended process if you are covering both sides of the wood you have to allow the water to leave the wood while curing.
