Re: filling weave of glas

Posted by LeeG on Aug 25, 2004

the picture in the shop tips clarifies what happens with successive fill coats but leaves one with the impression that sanding down close to the glass is recommended or preferable as the last drawing has the glass right at the surface of the epoxy fill. "In closing, remember that it isn't fatal if you sand into the fiberglass cloth a little, especially on lightweight sea kayaks."

In actuality what will ensure that the wood underneath those 5coats of varnish doesn't get discolored from dings or water intrusion into fibers near the surface of of the sanded epoxy IS another layer or two of epoxy. Especially on high wear areas like the sheer, hatch edges, coaming edges, as well as areas where water pools like the cockpit bottom and underside of the sheerclamp when the kayak sits on it's side. This may seem like nitpicking but there's a difference between sanding into the glass here and there,,and not providing adequate thickness of epoxy above the glass for a long lasting finish. If you read into the One Ocean Kayaks test page you'll see Vaclav make that point. The amount of epoxy it takes to add another mil or two on sheer edges is on the order of ozs. Likewise the bottom of a cockpit. If ozs make a difference then some other construction would make sense. Or a block of wood could eliminate 10oz of endpour,,or any other number of possibilities. If you do a search for "black ick" you'll see some correlation with how the kayak was stored but also how water made it's way into the wood. Water has an easier time getting through varnish than epoxy,,so take your pick,,lots of varnish or a little more epoxy. One keeps water out better.

In Response to: Re: filling weave of glas by SB on Aug 25, 2004

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