Wood epoxy

10 years ago

I've never used wood epoxy, and have a couple of questions.

I am repainting some wood framing (top half of a breezeway between house and garage, bottom is brick, this wood framework was used to hold storm glass windows in the past). The wood used to make this framework has some gouges/splintering that were just painted over before, some several inches long and wide and maybe an inch or two deep. Still trying to decide if it will be easier to repair (sand, prime, etc) or replace the wood. Thought I'd use some epoxy to fill in the gouges where they are noticeable.

The paint on most of these spots is still in good shape (solid surface, no cracking or peeling), and the wood is not soft, so I'm not sure how I'm going to get all the paint out of these areas. I'd assume that an epoxy won't bond well with the paint surface. Any chance I could use a primer over the areas that I'm going to epoxy and not have to dig the paint out? Or is that just asking for trouble?

Has anyone used Elmer's Structural Wood Repair? It appears they carry this at the orange box store in town, so was going to pick up some of this, though I've seen quite a few good comments on Abatron products.

Thanks for any info!

Featured Answer

John Tebbs

10 years ago

Abatron woodepox is the stuff to use. I have 25 year old Abatron repairs that are fine today. I've used the Elmer's stuff, but it's nowhere near the quality repair that you'll get with Abatron.

Comments (8)

geoffrey_b
10 years ago
I have used Bond - auto body filler, with good sucess.
graywings123
10 years ago
I am in a multi-year project of refurbishing the old wooden windows on my house. I love working with Abatron WoodEpox. I have the quart-size cans of it and use it frequently but in very small quantities. I open the two cans, get a glob of each out, combine them in my hand like I am playing with play-dough, and then apply it to the area I want to fix. I let it dry and then sand. I don't wear gloves when working with it.

To remove paint from the areas to be fixed, I would use a heat gun and a scraper. Heat the area and scrape out the soft paint.
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onewomanarmy
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for the tip - I'll have to see if I can get my hands on a heat gun. May also look for Abatron Epoxy since I've not seen much info on the Elmer's stuff.
sombreuil_mongrel
10 years ago
Wear gloves while handling epoxy, or you may develop a sensitivity to it, as I have over 25 years of intermittent exposure to it. Believe me, it is not a good feeling.
Heat gun is very useful for warming up Abatron products so they cure hard. The heat really accelerates the curing process.
Casey
Debbie Downer
10 years ago
Another vote in favor of Abatron. Some wood repairs I did 3 years ago are still looking good - no peeling paint or cracking. The Minwax products (wood hardener and a 2 part wood fill) are terrible - and yet that's all you find in the big box stores. I was redoing some window sills every year until I got wise.
francoisbernierhouse
8 years ago

Big fan of Abatron, Inc. products. Please view my ideabook titled windows for detailed photos of wood windows from my historic house. The 2 story French vertical log house and wood 6 over 6 windows were burned in a fire. Repairs to the windows were made with Abatron products during restoration of our historical treasure. Good luck!
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Benjamin Barnett Painting
8 years ago
Abatron has good epoxy products, so does West System and also Flex-Tec HV.

With Flex-Tec you need to apply a primer, so there is one extra step and you have to buy a special dual tube caulk gun which helps measure out the correct ratio of part A to part B. If you will be using the epoxy a lot its worth it. This product is really easy to work with and more and more hardware stores and paint stores are carrying it.

West system might be easier to find if you have a West Marine store near you, but you have to mix in the microballons yourself so that can be a pain. If you don't add microballons the epoxy won't "move" with the wood when it expands and contracts.

The Minwax and Bondo products are not epoxies, but since they are two part products and need to be mixed just like epoxies, people get misled. If epoxies are on the varsity team, the Minwax and Bondo products are definitely on the JV.