JEM Watercraft

Interesting: I asked System Three abd they didn't have a specific reason why theirs works better. Although they said they never studied other brands of polyurethanes.

So I'm afraid I don't have a good answer as to how Minwax would perform.

To me, spending an extra $30 to get a good bright/natural wood finish I know I won't have to sand/scrape off and reapply is worth it. I'm reluctant to say "try it and find out" because that would be a royal pain if the websites I referenced above were accurate as to what will happen.

I understand completely. That is what we are trying to do here you know, put you on the spot. I agree the extra expense isn't that much unless it is for nothing. If it is truly better then I will gladly pay, unless it gets ridiculous.

I guess I should also comment that I won't be leaving the boat out in the sun all the time and my main concern is abrasion resistance. Urethane was developed as a floor paint I believe and I will be standing in my boat and possibly stepping in and out tracking in mud and sand. I don't really care if the wood darkens from the sun but I certainly don't want the paint peeling. So far none of the examples I have seen use urethane over epoxy. That could make a world of difference. Right?

seems that way. For the interior bottom, maybe a section of porch paint where you expect the most abuse? Easy to touch up and it's pretty tough stuff.

You could get really silly and look for a small patch of seadeck.

http://www.seadek.com/index.html

To cover the floor of a canoe with their 5mm pad, you'd add maybe 2 pounds at most to the hull. Kind of an expensive upgrade, but would last a very, very long time.

I'll soon be sanding of (most of) the Minwax I applied to a wooden kayak a little over a year ago. Luckily, much of it is peeling off all by itself. Pretty disappointing.

Use Minwax Varnish today and you will be cussing tomorrow. That is the most useless stuff ever put on the market for anyone to use.

"O" Yes it is pretty when you apply it but as the clock ticks it starts getting it's revenge on you .... Pealing is the best thing it does. It will teach you how to sand or use a sand blaster if you have a lot of tight spots.

I went back and reread this post and I apologize to you for not saying anything when you mentioned about using it.

I was thinking you were talking about the stain , that is some good stuff ............ there varnish stinks even there so called Marine Varnish stinks.

I slipped up and used some on the interior of one of the canoes I made , BIG MISTAKE... It looked good and I thought they had improved on it ... WRONG..........It is pealing worse then a Yankee who spent to much time on a Florida beach.

The only varnish I use today is the one from Raka , the Z Spar and it has never failed me.
All of my boats are under cover or in the shop out of the weather.

Chuck.

Thanks these are the kind of responces I was hoping to get. Looks like I will not be using the Minwax.

I like the ronseal web site where it says colors available and it shows an empty rectangle and says "clear".