I have a new set of wheels for my H5, and am trying to confirm the best approach to seal them.
I am thinking to use Smith CPES from Jamestownb Distributors, probably 2 coats, then priner , then topcoat.( and all the sanding in-between)
If any one has any improvements or stories , I would like to hear from you.
Tom L.

The West System is best. It is an epoxy sealer for wood. The first coat is thinned out so that it soaks deep into the raw wood. The next two coats are applied full strength with sanding between coats. In a warm shop, it takes about 10 days or so to cure between coats.
Afterwards, the wood is strong and flexible just like fiberglass. Moisture will no longer affect the wood. Do a search on this forum to find previous discussions about the wood sealer. The West system is primarily is used in the boat building world. I think that they may have done a name change in recent years. It does very well with wood car bodies. Use it first before anything else is applied to the raw wood.

Tom that is the same stuff I used on my wheels. It has a very slow cure time and you keep putting it on till it won’t soak in any more. I still had a lot of chips and dings as my wheels were original and I filled these with the Fill-it epoxy filler. After sanding I used several coats of high build gray epoxy primer AWLGRIP. All this stuff came from Jamestown distributors. I use them a lot building wood boats. In fact every piece of wood on the car, both sides were treated with the CPES and AWLGRIP primer.
They came out very nice.
But then last year I got the bug to build wire wheels.
See attached.
H5 should have wire wheels.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2013 12:03PM by Rolly.

Thanks,
I will read up on thining the epoxy.
West System is about like syrup, not water...not sure how it will soak into the wood, although that is what I used on my Overland and they look good with varnish finish.

That was thas the advantage I thought CPES had, was that it had a very low viscosity, and would soak into the wood better.
I think there is also a solvent blended to help displace any moisture ( boat specific sorta thing)

Tom
I should have said the CPES is very wet, and soaks in, you keep applying it till the wood will take no more. It takes a few days to fully cure. A week is better.
Rolly

I used the CPES on my wheels and body also - great stuff, as Rolly says, you just keep brushing it on until it wont soak in anymore. It is kind of like water to brush on.

Jeff