View topic - Epoxy on snowshoes?

Question: Has anyone experimented with two part marine epoxy rather than spar varnish on wooden snowshoe frames? I'm thinking that good marine epoxy would provide a more durable layer of protection than varnish does.

Potential downsides: Heavier. More expensive. Cannot be applied (?) over previously varnished shoes, or over lacing. Less flexible--may be subject to cracking.

The same trade offs exist for marine uses, and a lot of use epoxy on wooded boats, or on wooden paddles.

If anyone has experimented with this, or has thoughts on the tradeoffs, I'd be interested.

Standard WestSystem epoxy is very brittle. But there is a brand called G-Flex that might work.

Are you just talking about the frames, not the babiche? If so, sure, any epoxy will probably work.

Dave

add lack of UV resistance to the downside, you need a coat of something to protect the epoxy. If you are looking for an easy way to treat wood - I use Cetol (also over epoxy) quick and easy to recoat when needed. I do not mind the colour it imparts to the wood (somewhat orange) but there are newer formulations that are supposed to have less of a tint. I can get the 3-5 coats I use (as a minimum) done in less than a week, and I use the foam brushes so I do not have any clean up to do.

Cetol is a wonderful coating. I have a cedar house and a wooden sailboat practically encapsulated with the stuff.

I never thought about using it on showshoes, but it would work. Not very abrasion-resistant though.

Cetol 1 is a penetrating solution, and it's designed to be covered with Cetol 2,3+ as a breathable topcoat. So this would be fine on babiche I would think.

Dave