Re: Fairing Boards

Posted by Dave Houser on Mar 7, 2005

If you use a fairing board you will have reflections in the final finish with smoother lines. ROS will leave subtle dips in the epoxy that give wavy reflections. It is all cosmetics. With a little downward pressure while sanding the board will bend to match the existing contour and only sand off the highs.

Plywood kayak panels bend to fair curves and do not have the thickness to withstand sanding. So on a S&G I use it after sanding off all of the shiny epoxy dimples in the lows of the weave with a ROS. An extra fill coat also and some spot filling are usually necessary after the ROS. The fairing board is also good for rounding the chines and shears (before glassing) to create smooth dip-less rounded corners.

I use a 1/4" lauan plywood 4-1/4" x 22" fairing board with 2� diameter flat wood drawer pulls for handles epoxied near each end. I use 80 grit sandpaper for most of my sanding. Both pieces of an 8-1/2" X 11" inch sheet of paper cut in half lengthwise completely cover the board without waste. I also found a 1/8" lauan 2-13/16" (8-1/2" divided by 3) x 11" fairing board to be useful in hard curved areas.

I use 3M Super 77 spray adhesive (from Lowes) to attach the sandpaper (it is also great to attach minicell seats and knee pads). A heat gun removes the sandpaper quickly and cleanly.

In Response to: Re: Fairing Boards by Parke on Mar 7, 2005

Replies:

• Re: Fairing Boards by Mac on Mar 7, 2005