Product Application

Epoxy adhesives, being gap-filling glues, need only enough clamping to close the joint. Unlike other glues, epoxy requires low pressure and a proper film thickness of resin to make a proper glue joint. 

QuickCure 5 or 15 can be reapplied over the top of an initial coat as soon as the adhesive gels.

For an epoxy adhesive or solvent-free coating to bond well to a wood surface, the moisture content of the wood should be 12% or below.  To give you some choices, here's a link to the adhesives page on our website.

For an epoxy adhesive or solvent-free coating to bond well to a wood surface, the moisture content of the wood should be 12% or below.  To give you some choices, here's a link to the adhesives page on our website.

We recommend the G-2 Adhesive for oily woods. Surfaces to be bonded should be free of oils for optimal adhesion. With a clean cotton rag liberally moistened with lacquer thinner, vigorously wipe area to be bonded. While surface is still moist with solvent, wipe with a dry rag and allow to dry completely. If necessary, repeat wiping until surface dries to a whitish color indicating extraction of surface oil. Once dry, sand using 120 grit to open up the grain. Bond within eight hours of cleaning.

Gel Magic is the best recommended product for ABS plastics. Please keep in mind that epoxies in general have weak bond strength to thermoplastic materials such as ABS. Flame-treating will help promote a stronger adhesion. 

No. The EndRot Kit and components alike are for cosmetic repairs only. 

Yes.  Our EndRot Kit and the component products in it were developed initially for use on wooden or wood frame boats, but adapt perfectly for architectural use.  For complete information and application instructions, click here.

The Board Defense powder is really designed to be used as a first step to our System Three End Rot System to make sure that wood destroying organisms are killed before it is repaired and patched. It is effective in destroying any decay, insect, or fungi in the instant it is applied and can last for a few months without any other protection. For long lasting repair and protection, please check our End Rot system here: https://www.systemthree.com/pages/rot-repair

A 1-gallon kit of flotation foam fills approximately 5 cubic feet of space and has approximately 300 Lbs. of flotation value.

If you prefer to mix your own putties, pastes, or thickened epoxy concoctions, here a couple of guidelines:

The correct sequence for making your own recipes:

1. Correctly measure and mix General Purpose resin/hardener. 
2. Add fibrous fillers like milled or chopped glass, or mini-fibers and mix well.
3. Add bulking agents, like microspheres and mix well.
4. Add thixotropic agent like fumed silica, or wood flour and mix well.

Please see The Epoxy Book Section VII C - Modifying Epoxy with Fillers for more information. 

Marine Spar Varnish can be recoated in 10-12 hours at the recommended coverage rate.  The varnish can be recoated without sanding up to 24 hours.  Beyond 24 hours, sanding is required.  Use 220-320 grit paper for brushing applications.  Use 400-600 grit for spray applications.

Marine Spar Varnish can be buffed out to remove dust and minor surface scratches.  The video below details how to buff and polish our popular MirrorCoat bartop coating.  The same process can be applied to buffing and polishing the Marine Spar Varnish.  See the MirrorCoat Buffing & Polishing Procedure below for detailed instructions.

The Marine Spar Varnish can be thinned with mineral spirits at up to 10-15% by weight.

System Three® Marine Spar Varnish can be used over some sanding sealers but it will depend on the formulation of the sealer. Most lacquer-based sanding sealers are not recommended because the sanding aids are wax-related. We recommend testing the varnish over any other sealers in a small section to ensure you get good adhesion between the two coatings.  Also, for future reference, the Spar Varnish does not require sanding in between coats if applied within 12-24 hours of the initial coat. 

From our experience, cratering or fish eyeing almost certainly indicate that one of three things occurred during your application:

1. Insufficient drying and/or incompatibility with a stain or oil: Pre-testing is always recommended when using products from another manufacturer.

2. Sanding too smooth can cause the epoxy to draw away from the surface. For example, sanding higher than 220 grit will make it difficult for the Mirror Coat to overcome the surface tension of the substrate. 

3. Lack of coverage: We specify pouring the MirrorCoat at 4 oz/sq ft to allow enough coverage on the substrate. Any less will result in a lack of adequate coverage.

A seal coat plus a flood coat per System Three recommendations yields approximately 70 mils of thickness or a fat 1/16".  This thickness can vary slightly depending on substrate porosity. 

Mirror Coat requires a total of 4.5 ounces per square foot (1/2 ounce for the seal coat and 4 ounce for the flood coat) of mixed resin and hardener. Therefore, you can multiply the square foot area of your project by 4.5 to calculate an estimate coverage. 

For best results, the varnish film must be intact, and not flaking or peeling.  Then Mirrorcoat can be applied and present a uniform appearance.  Ensure the film is sufficiently cured, clean, and sanded with 80-120 grit untreated sandpaper.

Yes.  System Three® offers a sanding and buffing kit for sale on the website.  Contents are shown below.  The video shows its use with Mirrorcoat®, but it also works well on WR-LPU and coating epoxies like Silvertip™.  Click on the image for detailed information and to purchase.

A white paper literature piece can also be downloaded from the website here:

Guide to Buffing and Polishing

Yes.  System Three offers a sanding and buffing kit for sale on the website.  Contents are shown below.  The video shows its use.

A white paper literature piece can also be downloaded from the website here:

Guide to Buffing and Polishing

Quikfair is slightly porous when sanded so we recommend sealing it with a thin coat of epoxy before priming and painting. Sealing will help to keep your primer coats consistent throughout. We recommend using a 2K epoxy such as our Silvertip Laminating Epoxy or General Purpose Epoxy for this, followed by the Silvertip Yacht Primer. 

Quikfair will not accept stain.  For a surface to accept stain, or be "stainable," it must have a certain amount of porosity, for colored stains must sink into a surface.  Quikfair is highly-filled, but the rest of the formula is an epoxy resin blend, which will seal the surface too well for it to accept stain once the Quikfair has cured.

RotFix is chemically formulated to cure over damp substrates. Best results are achieved by removing the wet, punky wood from the repair area.  If the wood is visibly wet after removing the punky material, use a hair dryer or heat gun to further dry the substrate.

RotFix Epoxy soaks deeply into porous wood materials.  Because of the varying porosity of rotting wood, the coverage rate can only be estimated within a range.  RotFix is available in 4 different kit sizes.  The kits are listed below with the approximate coverage per kit.

3 oz. / 3-5 sq. ft.

1.5 Pint / 24-26 sq. ft.

1.5 Quart / 48-50 sq. ft.

1.5 Gallon / 192-195 sq. ft.

While we haven't done extensive testing with wood preservatives besides System Three EndRot™ Borate Powder(sodium borate), we know that copper and zinc naphthenate are compatible with RotFix, when the preservatives are given at least 7 days to penetrate and dry.

We know that System Three® finishes, WR-LPU and Marine Spar Varnish 
are compatible with RotFix™.  Nitrocellulose lacquer, waterborne finishes, and 2-part polyurethanes will work as well.  As far as oil and 1-part polyurethanes, you will need to test for compatibility.

RotFix Sealer is a great product for consolidating or hardening soft or rotted wood.  It's also useful as a general purpose wood sealer.  If you have wood to paint, and it's a little soft, but not rotted away to require a full repair,  Rot Fix epoxy sealer will act as a primer for paint.

S1 Sealer can be tinted using System Three Epoxy Pigment Dispersions.  Simply add the pigment dispersion at 5-10% by volume to the Part A and stir until uniform in color.  The pigment dispersion is counted as part of the total Part A  volume.

https://www.systemthree.com/collections/fillers-foam-and-pigments/products/epoxy-paste-pigment

If the Sculpwood Putty has cured to a hard state, you can apply more SculpWood Putty.  First, apply RotFix Epoxy to the SculpWood Putty.  Allow the RotFix to reach a tacky state, then apply SculpWood Putty over the RotFix.

If working with SculpWood Paste, simply sand and apply more SculpWood Paste.

Once the Sculpwood putty/paste is hard enough to sand, both are capable of accepting any latex or water-based primers and paints. Oil based primers and paints can sometimes have drying issues so spot testing is recommended. 

The amount of Sculpwood required for a given project varies widely because it is difficult to estimate the volume of an irregular void.

You will need to estimate the cubic inches of the void by measuring the average length X width x depth.  The sum of this calculation is the total cubic inches.  SculpWood Putty comes in 4 kit sizes.  The kits are listed below with the number of cubic inches per unit.

8 oz. / 14.4cubic inches

1 Quart / 58 cubic inches

2 Quart / 116 cubic inches

2 Gallon / 462 cubic inches

Yes.  There are a few options:

1)  Dry pigments can be added into the mixed products in any proportion. 

 2)  Liquid dyes or paint colorants can be added into the mixed at up to 2% by weight.

 3)  System Three® Epoxy Paste Pigments can mixed into the Part A at up to 10% by weight and then mixed 1:1 with the Part B.

Unfortunately, no.  The resin content of the products is high enough to effectively have them function somewhat as sealers, and the stain will not penetrate like it will into the bare wood.

The suggested workaround is to mix dry pigments or house paint colorants into the paste or putty as you combine the Part A and B.  This can approximate the color of the stained wood around it.

SculpWood Putty can be applied over the RotFix immediately after application.

Sanding cured Silvertip Yacht Primer is not necessary for topcoat adhesion, but is recommended for optimal appearance.

Most primers for metal are applied to prevent corrosion.  Silvertip Yacht Primer does not contain anti-corrosive or flash-rust preventive pigments.  So it is not suitable for application directly on metal to prevent corrosion.

WR-LPU can be recoated without sanding within 24 hours.  After 24 hours, sand with 220-320 grit paper.  

When rolling and tipping, best results are achieved by applying no more than 2 coats per day.  Allow minimally, 4-6 hours of dry time before recoating.  This timeframe allows the WR-LPU to develop water and chemical resistance.  When the next coat is applied, much better flow and level occur. You will also see an improvement in wet edge extension (more open time).

Recoating in the 1-3 hour window is not advised because WR-LPU has not developed sufficient water and chemical resistance.  Poor application characteristics such as reduced flow and level as well as decreased open time will result.

Sheen variations and dull spots in high-gloss topcoats usually result from one of the following:

1. The topcoat has been applied unevenly.
2. Sandpaper used before application of the topcoat was too coarse.
3. The topcoat was applied in conditions which cause it to set up prematurely.  These include a substrate which is heated from the sun or where wind or ventilation is excessive.

You can avoid sheen variations by coating in an environment where the substrate is protected from the sun and wind.  Additionally, sanding the substrate to 320 will provide sufficient tooth and a scratch pattern which promotes a uniform final appearance. 

Dipping the brush or wetting out the roller with the topcoat charges (fills) each applicator with a given volume.  This volume of topcoat has an optimal area in which to be applied.  In the case of the brush, it will glide smoothly.  Once it begins to drag, the volume of topcoat within the brush is depleting. Avoid further brushing.  Recharge the brush, overlap into the previously applied material and dispense the topcoat. 

A freshly charged roller will apply topcoat smoothly and with little noise coming from the substrate.  Once the roller begins to make some surface noise, you know it's time to recharge with topcoat.  Again, slightly overlap with the previously applied material. Be consistent in charging and dispensing and you will get a much more uniform sheen over the surface.

WR-LPU is a topside paint intended primarily for above the waterline applications.  It can be used below the waterline for day use watercraft only.  Like with most highly-weatherable polyurethane paints, too long an exposure underwater will allow blisters to form in the film.

Allow epoxy to cure at least 7 days at 70°F or above before applying WR-LPU. Please see the Technical Data Sheet and the Paint Literature for more information on application. 

System Three Silvertip Yacht Primer and WR-LPU Topcoat paints are guaranteed for 3 years from the date of manufacture. However, the shelf-life can be extended if stored well sealed above 50F. After 3 years, we recommend pre-testing a small sample prior to use. 

Batch code: X(YEAR) XX(MONTH) XX(DAY) X (INTERNAL CODE).

The WR-LPU Topcoat may be thinned with clean deionized or distilled water at up to 25%.