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For the wood I would recommend West System epoxy, using the #207 Special Hardener. I say West System mainly because that is what I have first hand experience with, so I can say it first-hand. The 207 special hardener is meant for special coatings, specifically things like using the epoxy as a protective coating on wood. This hardener is a yellow color, as opposed to the other ones which are generally clear colored.

Mixed with the resin in the proper proportions, which is easy to do using West System's pre-metered pumps, this resin/hardener makes for a great coating. Apply anywhere from 2 to 4 or 5 coats, just depending on the results you are seeing along the way, sanding with fine sandpaper in between coats to keep it smooth and help it bond well.

Three notes on using epoxy as a coating like this, which I have found from personal experience with it:

#1. After you build up one or two coats, the epoxy will start to emit a "blush" all over its surface. It will not necessarily look oily or anything, but it will feel slightly slimy and slick. This should be removed before sanding, or can be done in conjunction with it. It is water-soluble and you can get lots of it off by wiping it down with soaked rags and you can also wet-sand it, thus killing two birds with one stone.

#2. Depending on the condition of the wood, the way the finished product looks 24-48 hours after last coat may not be the same as it does 1-2 weeks afterwards. Just because it looks good right when you finish it does not mean that further drying will occur and the wood seems to even draw some of it in, so I would suggest getting it to the point where, "dry" it looks like you're done, and then add one or two MORE coats to be sure. No need to build up a bullet-proof layer of epoxy on the wood, understand, just enough to be sure of it.

#3. This is more of a personal thing. The wet epoxy, like any other wet finish, holds onto dust, hair, sawdust bits, and just about anything else that touches it before it is hard. In my "workshop," I am not the only one who uses it, and boat work is not the only purpose for which it is used, so people may come in and kick up dust or the climate control may kick in and blow a nice cloud of dust onto the wet epoxy. If you're like me, you dont have another room where you can seal off your work from anything and everything while it cures, so just build a little enclosure using a PVC pipe frame and *clean* plastic drop cloth to cover it up, works fairly well.


Maybe you read all that in a book/other posts already, but hope you something there applied!