Sealing cut ply and counter top edges?

cormie

Hey folks,
What would be best to use to seal cut plywood edges? I'm using Malaysian ply and it will be exposed to weather from time to time so it's been advised to seal any cut edges. From what I've looked up, I should seal ply with "Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer" ? Is this available in most hardware shops here?

Then for the cut edges of counter top (the cut out hole for the sink for example) - of just a cheap IKEA chipboard counter top, PVA was suggested to just paint along the cut edges.

PVA was advised against with the ply cut edges, but I didn't see CPES advised against for the counter top, but guessing it may not suit on chipboard and PVA might be best here?

Any thoughts appreciated

my3cents

You can seal almost any wood with the same epoxy resin they use for with glass fibre for making canoes etc. I looked at this in depth when I was thinking of making a hovercraft. Something like this might sort you out https://www.amazon.co.uk/Axson-Epolam-General-Purpose-System/dp/B00SH8HIP2/ when you are looking for epoxy for this purpose you want to look for a Lloyds approved resin.

cormie

Thanks for the suggestion, wow that seems expensive for such a small quantity. I'm guessing it's pretty solid stuff, but maybe a bit overkill for just sealing some cut ply edges and counter top? Do you think it'd work a lot better than CPES? Would PVA still be ok to use on the cut counter top edges I wonder?

Lumen

Indoors or outdoors?

CPES is not like regular (e.g. West) expoxy. It seems to be more of a rot treatment/primer than a finish coat.

https://www.rotdoctor.com/products/cpes.html

cormie

It's for the floor of a van primarily, but I'd like something that can be versatile enough that I can apply it easy enough to other cut edges on other projects too where it might suit and give added protection.

Nothing will be constantly exposed to bad weather/spills etc, but I want it to be resilient when it is.

listermint

I've ply on the floor of my van it's completely untreated and has zero rot on it.

You may be overthinking this for the use case. Tbh id varnish the edges I wouldn't be wasting big money or time on expoxy. It's a camper not a boat.

Lumen

As I understand it, there are two sorts of protection typically applied to wood: preservative (e.g. Protim 265) and plastic or oil-based sealant (e.g. epoxy, boiled linseed oil, etc). One prevents rot, the other prevents wetting.

The issue with sealants outdoors (and even indoors to a lesser degree) is UV degredation, e.g. linseed oil is known to eventually yellow when used on kitchen countertops.

I think epoxy also suffers UV degredation and eventual cracking. I don't build boats but AFAIK epoxy isn't used as a final coat, that would be varnish:

https://vikingmarine.ie/collections/paint-1/varnish

And treatments differ in terms of food safety and appearance.

So the idea of one product to rule them all doesn't really work.

I've used matt polyurethane varnish on an indoor desk project, worked fine, cheap enough and not too nasty to use. Epoxy is nasty - you can acquire allergic contact dermatitis if not careful with gloves.

cormie

Haha, you're probably right!

I know the wisadeck/buffalo board they use on trailers and that should be sealed when cut, but yeah, that's constant exposure whereas ply inside the van will just be walked over with wet feet, and maybe exposure around the door openings etc if it's lashing rain and maybe some spillages and that.

You reckon a lick of any varnish will suffice for the ply then and then just PVA for sealing up the chip board/laminate on a countertop to stop it soaking in and peeling over time with sink and tap water spills?

listermint

Yep. You'll have no problems with it. Mines been boarded for over ten years and is nothing other than dirty and that's not even treated with anything.

cormie

Yeah, I've had what I'm guessing is untreated ply in other vans and it's been fine too, just wanted to do it right when I'm doing it myself, I'll just give it a lick of varnish so

Bonzo Delaney

I done the base of my van in marine ply
Takes a fair amount of hacking tools,materials cement mixers, scaffold blocks ext.
The only precaution I took with it around the exposed edges at the side door and back door is I put a strip of self adhesive 18x18 alu angle protective trim across them .
Works wonders.