Sealing plywood nuc sides with yacht varnish?

[simonforeman]

I recently bought some national brood 3rds, I have filled where required and now in the process of table sawing in half to make 5 frame nuc boxes. So 3/4 of the box will be cedar with a 18mm plywood side

My question is has anybody used yacht varnish to seal plywood before on new nucs or hives? Is it ok for use with bees?

My plan is to use coats of water based paint and then 3 coats of yacht varnish.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

for the price of 3rd quality kit, I would just sacrifice a few of the flatpacks and used the cedar panels to make the needed sides on the nucs

 

[simonforeman]

for the price of 3rd quality kit, I would just sacrifice a few of the flatpacks and used the cedar panels to make the needed sides on the nucs

That was my original plan but the 3 packs of 3rds I got I was lucky enough that only parts for 1 box are very poor so will use ply for rest of sides.

 

[blackcloud]

Ply will delaminate rapidly even when varnished
Yacht varnish will need the first three coats thinning right down and the remaining 12 less so.
Linseed oil is my preference for composite materials.

 

[Jules59]

Ply will delaminate rapidly even when varnished
Yacht varnish will need the first three coats thinning right down and the remaining 12 less so.
Linseed oil is my preference for composite materials.

Do they still use yacht varnish these days - all my dinghy sailor friends moved over to epoxy paint systems years ago.

 

[blackcloud]

Its called polyurethane officially but yacht varnish by the old folk.
Hopeless by those who have tried it on outdoor surfaces.

 

[simonforeman]

Ply will delaminate rapidly even when varnished
Yacht varnish will need the first three coats thinning right down and the remaining 12 less so.
Linseed oil is my preference for composite materials.

Thank you for info

How many coats of linseed do you give something like ply please? Anything else you use in parallel with it?

 

[pargyle]

Thank you for info

How many coats of linseed do you give something like ply please? Anything else you use in parallel with it?

Unless it's marine grade ply you have no hope whatever varnish or other coating you apply, The glues tht the use for laminating anything but genuine hardwood marine ply will loosen and the ply WILL delaminate ... waste of time ... in some instances and some plywood you would be lucky to get it through it's first winter without curling up ...

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Unless it's marine grade ply you have no hope whatever varnish or other coating you apply, The glues tht the use for laminating anything but genuine hardwood marine ply will loosen and the ply WILL delaminate ... waste of time ... in some instances and some plywood you would be lucky to get it through it's first winter without curling up ...

 

[Swarm]

Coated the exposed edges of mine with wood glue.

 

[Garry R]

Ronseal woodstain 10 year does not do a bad job if you recoat several times. I made a chipboard solar extractor which has lasted about 5 years and still ok. Seal all you can

 

[ericbeaumont]

Seal all you can

As Steve said, cut edges are the first to absorb water, so I'd sit them in glue or varnish to absorb it deeply, then paint.

Ordinary ply, sealed & painted: five years?

 

[blackcloud]

Im trying to make amends for my young years as a petrolhead and try to cut down on chemicals as much as possible
Three coats of linseed oil instead of paint is one such effort.
Only slightly cheaper than paint but if you buy it in quantity its better value.
5 and 10 litre containers from amazon are good deals
The boiled and raw debate is out of proportion but raw is much more pleasant to use
Flooding the cut edges is essential

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Ordinary ply, sealed & painted: five years?

if you're lucky, had some last only a whole season before showing delamination and others have lasted ten before falling apart

 

[madasafish]

Ply ? Bonfire job.
No matter what you do it will delaminate including WBP.
PROPER marine ply is very expensive .
OSB3 is far better.

 

[BertBee]

Ply ? Bonfire job.
No matter what you do it will delaminate including WBP.
PROPER marine ply is very expensive .
OSB3 is far better.

Thought about Moose Farg, Swedish paint. I use it also for all my wooden hives!!!
best wishes,
Bert Berghoef
Triple Bee
holland

 

[madasafish]

Thought about Moose Farg, Swedish paint. I use it also for all my wooden hives!!!
best wishes,
Bert Berghoef
Triple Bee
holland

AT the prices on their website Product overview I would buy decent wood..

 

[Wilco]

If using ply, paint it with the resin from car glassfibre resin repair kits. Couple of coats works for me.

 

[blackcloud]

Its easy to get snobbish about the materials and I certainly can be but economics and ecological concern steer me ever further to being more resourceful now.
I make use of what I have to hand,what I can reclaim from skips or the recycling websites.I reuse old screws and paint remnants which have already done their damage to the environment.
Low grade materials can be used where appropriate -I have feeder boards and clearing boxes made from old chipboard kitchen units- with a few coats of oil on the cut edges they are only used for a limited time and do a fantastic job.
My crownboards are ply,clamped by rims on both sides.Again with oiling they are years old now with no deteriation whatsoever.
As long as the end result is safe sturdy and secure for the inhabitants then there is no problem in being a womble.

 

[pargyle]

Its easy to get snobbish about the materials and I certainly can be but economics and ecological concern steer me ever further to being more resourceful now.
I make use of what I have to hand,what I can reclaim from skips or the recycling websites.I reuse old screws and paint remnants which have already done their damage to the environment.
Low grade materials can be used where appropriate -I have feeder boards and clearing boxes made from old chipboard kitchen units- with a few coats of oil on the cut edges they are only used for a limited time and do a fantastic job.
My crownboards are ply,clamped by rims on both sides.Again with oiling they are years old now with no deteriation whatsoever.
As long as the end result is safe sturdy and secure for the inhabitants then there is no problem in being a womble.

I'm a massive fan of recycling but ... there is an old expression - You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear - why waste time trying to waterproof and weatherproof a material that is designed only for interior use ... it's a waste of time and effort - by all means recycle but hunt down materials that WILL do the job.