Microlight vs Wood Flour?

Posted by Chuck Rhodes on May 9, 2006

I am working on my second CLC kit, this time a Chesapeake 17(LT). I originally built my C-17 strictly according to the manual. This time I am striving to reduce weight wherever possible but still have a good strongly built craft. In doing so I am considering not using the wood flour/epoxy for doing the hull seam fillets. This is because wood flour has a high epoxy resin absorbtion property and therefore is heavier than other fillers. I am considering using a mixture of West System 407 and 410 microlight low density fillers instead. This stuff is much easier to sand, a lot lighter in weight overall, and with the glass on the outside of the hull, plus the inside seam glass taping, there should be plenty of structural strength necessary. I believe I can knock off some weight doing this considering the amount of filleting required on the inside of the hull. Anyway, just wondering if others have used this vice the wood flour filler? How about the microballon/wood flour mix? What ratio works best for that?

Thanks

Chuck

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