Returning from the Cave and System 3 LPU and Clear Coat

[heartofgold]

Greetings everyone! I have been hiding in a cave the past year or two, so I hope I am not barking up the wrong tree with this one.

I am restoring a 1974 fiberglass canoe (I am considering putting in a mast mount), but rather than go off and overkill the paint, I am considering System 3 water based LPU for the hull (inside and out), and for the woodwork (I am adding ash and Peruvian walnut gunnels), System 3 clear LPU.

Can anyone speak for the durability and quality of these products? I recall someone used the S3 clear LPU on their Bristol in Florida a few years ago, I would be interested in hearing how that survived. If anyone is interested, I can always post pictures later.

[preserved_killick]

I painted my boat with System Three LPU summer of 2009 and it is holding up great. Up in Maine the boat is exposed to the sun May to November so the season is rather short. We put about 50 days a season on the boat.

I also used the Clear Coat over some wood and while that seems to last many times longer than varnish, and is much easier to apply, I've stopped using it for most woodwork since it's difficult to repair, and my woodwork often has moisture issues lifting the top coat in places here and there. I've got one hatch cover still with Clear Coat, and it's going on 4 years..still shiny.

I primed a set of oars with a couple layers of epoxy, then a few layers of System Three LPU and they take a beating! They get dropped, bumped against rocks, bang around the dinghy, and they only need touching up where they got gouged by oarlocks.

-jeff