Re: glassing - mmm!

Posted by terry on Feb 18, 2005

Actually, if you're going to just lightly sand it before the third coat, you should do it now. If you wait until the second coat cures (a few days), you'll need to sand the boat more thoroughly (and maybe give it a quick scrub with fresh water and a scrubbie pad) to ensure adhesion of the third fill coat. Personally, I prefer to let the second coat cure well, then sand it, as the uncured epoxy dust is more of a health hazard and clogs the sandpaper (keep it off your skin and wear your espirator). 'Course, if you buy a carbide scraper ($15 - 20) you'll sand much less.

I would address those voids if I were you. If they were in the interior and small, you could probably let them go, but on the hull, you want to get them filled. They may appear flat, but there's air and possibly unsealed wood under there. Some folks have had luck drilling small holes and injecting epoxy with a syringe. I find this tedious, and I prefer to limit my syringe injsections to steroids so I can play for the Yankees. As I paint all my hulls because I like the contrast with the varnished deck, I just carve out any voids with a razor blade and fill them with a mixture of epoxy and microballoons (a good, homemade fairing compound). The paint will hide the repair. You can use epoxy thickened with wood flour for filling, but you should shape and smooth it with the scraper the first day, as it will be harder to smooth after it cures.

Later on, when you glass your deck, try using an automotive squeegee to do the critical first coat of epoxy. This spreads the epoxy faster, thinner and more uniformly, and seems to minimize runs and voids forming. Voids only form on the first coat, and once the epoxy sets, they're there for good unless you repair them.

A bit of work ahead to get the voids adressed, but worth it. In return for this advice I want to see lots and lots of photos of you new water ride.

terry

In Response to: Re: glassing - mmm! by ray on Feb 18, 2005

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