• Welcome to the Checkmate Community Forums forums.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions, articles and access to our other FREE features.
    By joining our free community you will be able to:

    » Interact with over 10,000 Checkmate Fanatics from around the world!
    » Post topics and messages
    » Post and view photos
    » Communicate privately with other members
    » Access our extensive gallery of old Checkmate brochures located in our Media Gallery
    » Browse the various pictures in our Checkmate photo gallery

    Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact support by clicking here or by using the"contact us" link at the bottom of the page.

Coating marine plywood

Don's89 Senator

Don's89 Senator

Well-known member
Hi maters.... Another question????? On doing my rear bench and hatch cover.. In looking into material to replace the rotted ply. I talked to Mike at Checkmate on replacement.. He told me that, Checkmate has been using plastic board ( or what ever you call it ) for years instead of wood.. Well, off I go to a lumber yard for that product and found something in plastic.. The guy there said,, Not a good Idea.. It's for triming houses..Okay!!!!! Still confused.. So off I go to another lumber yard.. You know second opinion.. This guy says,, The heating and contracting of plastic won't hold stapels and it's for triming.. We are talking $156.00 a sheet plastic to $81.00 Marine ply ( that's NY prices ).. Now I just spent near $1,000 on new skins ( thats seat covers He He!! ).. I want this done right... So you know were I went.. Thats right marine ply.. I cheaped out.. Of coarse it only comes in 3/4 thickness.. I need thinner for hatch cover like 1/4 to 1/2 inch.. So hear is my Question.... What should I coat the wood with?? I heard roll-on bed liner stuff ,poly,etc. etc... The hatch will probley be some sort of ply maybe preasure treated...
It's on your laps people so help me out... Thanks Don :brickwall:

P.S. My buckets pics are posted on new interior done by pro's... Thanks again John for posting seat pics :cheers:
 
I just replaced the rear seat back and a couple of other panels a couple of weeks ago and used standard exterior ply coated with oil based polyurethane. From the looks of the original panels they were not marine ply or pressure treated and they made it 20 years so I'm feeling pretty good about my decision. As suggested by some members here I paid special attention to the edges of the boards. If you are going to use stainless hardware anyway I would think about pressure treated if you're really worried about it. All the Lowe's around here sell it in 1/2" and 3/4". Make sure you use stainless staples if you use treated and if you use something else you can use Monel staples which are supposed to be better than stainless but they are pricey. Again, I've had the best luck finding them at Lowe's.

John
 
well, if it was me, i'd take that marine ply back and buy g1s.

the only thing marine offers is less knots, since no one will see it, i wouldn't worry about it.

back in the late 80's checkmate was using pressure treated plywood of some sort, i remember it being green.

if i was doing it, i'd use the cheapest plywood i could get, encapsulate in f/g and then do the skins over top.
 
I would use the marine plywood (no voids and waterproof glue and it does come in 1/2 inch) and coat it with either epoxy resin or CPE (clear penetrating epoxy) for extra measure. The CPE works real well I've used it on some of the panels I have rebuilt over the years and the wood lasts way longer than treated lumber. Just my 2 cents.
 
Chris E said:
well, if it was me, i'd take that marine ply back and buy g1s.

the only thing marine offers is less knots, since no one will see it, i wouldn't worry about it.

back in the late 80's checkmate was using pressure treated plywood of some sort, i remember it being green.

if i was doing it, i'd use the cheapest plywood i could get, encapsulate in f/g and then do the skins over top.
Click to expand...

I agree with Chris E on this.

For the seats, I used 1/2" and coated the pieces with (epoxy) resin and (10 oz. cloth) fiberglass. This will essentially waterproof and strengthen the wood that will stand up to the wear and tear of the elements. I bought my wood from Lowes and didn't hesitate to pick through the pile to find the good pieces.

IMHO, treated is a pain with chemicals reacting to stainless, weighs and costs too much and you'll have to let it sit half the summer to get the most of the moisture out.
 
Lowes sells ACX plywood. Real nice stuff. Here in NJ the 1/2" is $29.97
and the 3/4" is $ 37.00. It is the next best thing to any of the BS1088
rated marine plywoods. Best to coat the panels with epoxy or glass cloth
with poly resin to help prevent water saturation.
 
I'd like to thank you guys for your input.. I can't find 1/2 inch marine ply. So I guess i'm going with the 3/4 's for seats only and 1/2 ply for hatch.. I hope this won't make it to heavy.. I'm sure the weight is'nt that much diff.. I'm also going with the epox stuff for extra insurance that you all suggested.. I'm also going to cut a circle for the carb spark resistor and plate with aluminum for extra clearence in case of a high rise intake ( I have someone in this group to thank for that idea ) Thanks again Don :cheers:

P.S. keep the idea's and suggestions coming :bigthumb:
 
I would use a marine plywood coated with an epoxy resin. In my predictor restoration, I used a 1/2" "Hydro-tek" mahogany marine plywood from Homestead Hardwoods in Northern Ohio. It's much lighter and stronger than any marine plywood that you'll find at a lumber yard. As for epoxies, I have only worked with the West System Epoxy products, but they seam to work well.
 
Don, just curios what your rear seat thickness was? mine is also a 89' and the seat bottom and base was 5/8", the back rest was 3/8", I just used treated wood of the same size to rebuild it, I figured that would be good enough, all my 22 year old wood was still in pretty good shape, I don't know if it was treated or what, it was green but almost looked like it was painted green.

if you want me to post some more progress pics just send em my way.
 
I noticed that green color on the backrests on the sides of the bow when I ras rebuilding them the other day. It didn't look like it was pressure treatee though, you could clearly see drips and runs in it so it must have been some sort of brushed or sprayed on coating.

John
 
I noticed that green color on the backrests on the sides of the bow when I ras rebuilding them the other day. It didn't look like it was pressure treatee though, you could clearly see drips and runs in it so it must have been some sort of brushed or sprayed on coating.

John
 
John L.. My wood was about the same thickness as yours.. But I went with 3/4 marine for seat and 1/2 ply for rear deck.. I'm polying it all ( 2 coats ) ATC,, I had the same green on my wood,, It looked like coating..:confused::confused:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top