: Here's one for you all to chew on. This winter I am going to build my first
: kayak. A strip Great Auk (thanks Nick). Being my first, I am going to use
: readily available white pine that I am used to working with. Here's the
: question: What if, after the deck & hull are all sanded, I stained the
: pine with a tea mixture to darken the wood. After fully dry, will the
: tannins in the tea react with epoxy?? Just thinking out loud here.. It
: will be a while before I set up shop in the basement, but I have built the
: sucker a dozen times in my head. I think with a tea-stained boat, it would
: be quite unique. Am I nuts??? or just organic

: Wilf

H'lo Wilf

Probably wouldn't hurt, but when you get your glass and resin, take a little time to make a practice piece, stain it, glass it and give it a week or so to set real good, then see how it sticks.

You can peel glass off of the wood, but if you make another sample with plain wood, you should see a difference if it's going to be a problem.

I haven't heard of anyone using Tea, so you are probably on your own on this one.. But, it would be interesting to see, as there are many natural materials that might be used, such as fruit juices ( fresh, not soft-drinks )and the like.

You would want to stain it just before adding the glass as sanding may give you mixed results ( blotchies ).

Rehd