Planning to Glass my repaired Tiller arm. Should I oil it first?

[Vancefish]

My Tiller arm was badly delaminated. Not just the epoxy coating, but the layers of wood were also opening up.

It also had extra holes. Two near the base were from a Tiller pilot bracket. The other was about a foot from the end.

That one was three holes from a Tiller extention fitting, that was ripped out, and wallowed out.

So first I re-glued and clamped the layers, starting at the mid point leading forward. By the time I'd mashed it all back together the layers did not line up at the handle.

Not a problem! Next was to sand off all of the epoxy coating, grayed exposed wood, extruded glue and minor splintering.

Next I filled the unwanted holes with Wood Epoxy puddy. Using a pencil eraser I was able to mash that into all of the "frayed" wood in the hole itself.

Then I sanded the excess of that off.

Now as I build a new Tiller extention Standoff (so the new extension will lay flat when not in use). I started to refinish some companionway teak.

As gorgeous at the freshly oiled Teak is. I began to wonder if the epoxy would still bond to the Tiller arm if I were to oil it?! [emoji848]

I know that a lot of the grain will pop as soon as the epoxy hits it. However this wood IS very very dry after 41 years in the sun.

The last few pictures are the Black Walnut Root Tiller pilot connector I made myself (replacing some stacked plywood with a screw in it). As well as the Live edge (also Black Walnut root) Tiller extention standoff (not completed).

Thank you for any information on glassing oiled wood.

[Tillsbury]

Epoxy first, then whatever finish over the top. The finish needs to protect the epoxy from uv as much as it can.

[s/v Jedi]

Are you going to wrap it in fiberglass? I once did something similar with 2” wide fiberglass tape and that worked surprisingly well but I didn’t need to finish the ends like you have...
Anyway, finishing goes on top like others already mentioned. Dry wood will soak the resin up.

I have a great tip: after final sanding, use a heat gun to heat the tiller up. Mix West System epoxy resin with the special purpose clear UV resistant hardener, use heat gun a bit more, then coat in epoxy with a brush.
This does two things: the epoxy flows better on a hot surface and during heating all the air in the wood pores has expanded. After coating when it cools down, this sucks the resin deeper into the wood and it prevents bubbles which you otherwise get when the air in pores expands due to the exothermic heat from the epoxy curing reaction
Even though this hardener is called UV resistant, you need to finish it. Instead of oil, you can use a two component clear coat from Awlgrip or others.

[Vancefish]

Yes I am covering the entire completed thing in Fiberglass. I purchased two yards of it (to get a long enough piece.

The heat gun thing is a good plan. My standoff/spacer for the Tiller extention was an attempt at "Live edge". Unfortunately I put warm epoxy, onto cool wood. Which sucked the air out of the wood as the epoxy hardened (The opposite of what you're saying).

Although it was not the effect I'd planned? It actually has a very cool look. Somewhat like bubbles collected on a surf beaten log. So I'm planning to keep my failed work. [emoji16]

It sounds like I'll need to final coat in a clear essentially UV resistant paint?

The reason I ask about the oiling, is that this Tung oil really darkened up my Teak! Bringing it to a near Black Walnut tone.

That kind of got my mind thinking that darkening this Tiller arm might make it match the "accessories" I've added. Oil may not be the way to go though.

Maybe a non oily stain would be better..[emoji848] I'm not rushing this BTW, although I do want to finish! 🤣

[s/v Jedi]

With epoxy it will become the same color as when you wet it with a moist cloth. If you want darker, you can use a dye on the wood (not a stain), or a powder pigment for the epoxy (even some graphite powder works).

When you wrap in fiberglass, are you going to overlap it or precision cut for a butt joint fit?

Please post pictures as you go

[Vancefish]

I've argued with myself on the overlap or precision cut. Currently the piece I cut is significantly larger then I need. One edge is factory straight.

The precision cut ending on an underside edge/corner seems to make the most sense to me. A little extra time and care, saves a lot of sanding later.

However the Extention Standoff, and Tiller pilot "block", as well as the Nub on the end of the handle (which I also added) will all need slight overlap pieces to tie it all in. So overlap may be the way to go.

I've hunted for any videos of people doing this. There don't seem to be any.

[s/v Jedi]

I settled on overlap. After cure I sand the high points a bit... into the fibers even. Then I fair it. I just bought the totalboat fairing compound as it’s cheaper and results on videos look good to me.

Inside corners I just glass separate pieces from each side into the corner, then add a fillet for a radius later. Outside corners I sand or use a roundover bit in a router.

[rbk]

Should have just bought a roll of glass tape. Varying widths and weights for relatively cheap. No cutting mat into strips.

[dfelsent]

Originally Posted by rbk

Should have just bought a roll of glass tape. Varying widths and weights for relatively cheap. No cutting mat into strips.

FYI, Some tape has rather thick edges and makes for more work when looking for a smooth brightwork finish.

[GrowleyMonster]

Voice of experience here. If you repair your tiller, make a spare one, too.

[Vancefish]

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster

Voice of experience here. If you repair your tiller, make a spare one, too.

Always a good plan to have a backup everything. Especially if you go Cruising! [emoji106]

[guyrj33]

It sounds like a nice project.
Do not oil the wood, it will reduce or prevent the epoxy from bonding.
The suggestion to heat the wood to drive out excess air is a good one. Another way to drive epoxy into the wood and prevent bubbles is vacuum bagging, the vacuum pulls the air out of the wood and replaces it with epoxy. It will however be more difficult to obtain a smooth coat with vacuum bagging, it would likely require more sanding, but the penetration will be better.
4 oz fiberglass cloth will be almost transparent in the final results.
I think fairing compound will be visible.
Varnish would be a good final layer(s) to provide the needed UV protection.

[KimSails]

I recently finished a stitch-and-glue kit boat. This included wrapping the rudder and daggerboard in fiberglass. The manual provided direction on the wrapping of the fiberglass. The 4 ounce glass was wrapped about 3/4 of the way around the rudder and daggerboard edges - first on one side, then on the other side with the overlap. Fill-coat the weave of the cloth with epoxy once it is just slightly tacky. Sand smooth after it is cured. Apply one more thin coat of epoxy before finishing if you want to be finicky.

Jedi's heat gun idea was also used in my kit manual. Very helpful. A variation of this idea can be seen in Russell Brown's epoxy series (#6) recently posted on Off-Center Harbor .com.

I agree with dfelsent comment on the tapes. Even with the flat cloth you use, pull a couple threads off of each edge of your cut cloth to allow the overlapped edges to lay a bit flatter.

[rbk]

Originally Posted by dfelsent

FYI, Some tape has rather thick edges and makes for more work when looking for a smooth brightwork finish.

So does mat and roving hence the mentioning of different weights.:

[Cheechako]

Are new tillers really that expensive?