I'd like to second what Brian and others have said about Marine Epoxy. I'd also
like to add my two cents. There are a lot of marine epoxies out there. And I have
tried most. I have a wooden trawler and at 47' I have a lot of wood to deal with.
For any type or repair, fairing or bonding I prefer to use West System. It is a
little on the expensive side, but well worth the extra $$.
Brian's use of a drill bit and stop collar is an easy way to get the epoxy into
the wood. Use of a syringe to inject the epoxy is also very helpful. Most epoxies
say you can thin them for better penetration. Don't do it. Use a good penetrating
epoxy. Thinning an expoxy such as West will weaken it by as much as 40%.
I use a penetrating epoxy if the wood has dried out or is soft. If it is too soft
I'll section or replace it. I will soak the wood until it will not accept any more
and that is usually 2-5 applications. Once it has become very tacky, I'll brush on
the West System.
If I need to bond, I'll add one of the West fillers depending what I am bonding,
attach the two pieces, and once it sets up, it will not come apart. This can be used
on joints to bond 2 pieces of wood, or on a wood to metal bond such as deck hardware.
On our trailers, I don't see a need to add fiberglass cloth to small repairs. I rarely
use it on the boat unless I know an area on the deck has a potential to flex a lot at
sea. If cloth is needed, make sure it is compatible with whatever epoxy you plan to use.
Don't ask me how I know this.
I can go on and on about the uses for epoxy, but I think for our trailers, this about
covers it.
Best Regards,
Brett