putting Cosmo on top

Posted by Karl on Aug 18, 2005

Folks, I'm pulling cosmo's message up top and copying it. He needs our help.

...I'm pretty sure my 'squeegee' was way too stiff (a stiffgee?) and I didn't get good epoxy spread. The cloth 'bubbled' up in a couple of places, instead of adhering to the hull.

So my question is: Should I cut out the sections around the bubbles (I'm thinking with an exacto knife) and then try to patch in with new pieces of cloth? At this point I've pretty much given up on the boat looking good - I just want it to be strong.

Thanks...

Cosmo, first off, how bad is it? Are the bubbles deep enough that they look like blisters? Are they just little silvery mrks under the surface? How much of the surface area has issues? Can you post some pics? Most issues don't seem to be completely irreversible, so give it a shot..

I'm guessing that anything that just looks like little silvery bubbles won't be a structural issue. Finish your fill coats and snad it nice and smooth, then paint it, if you don't like the looks.

Blisters that rise up off the wood surface, with trapped air under them sound like a problem. My suggestion (and anyone else with more experience should chime in here if i'm wrong) would be this: if the bubbles are confined to a few smaller areas, trim them back with the X-acto knife, sand the edges back, feathering them in. Try not to sand into the wood. Then cut a piece of fabric big enough to cover with extra, and glass it back in. Some judicious sanding and feathering, should make it all but invisible (much like the deck to hull joint).

Last, and worse case scenario, if the bubbles are all over the place, a heat gun and scraper seems to work well for removing the glass altogether, then you can sand it, and try again. Yeah, I know, that sounds like a crappy alternative, but, ask yourself how much time and $$ you've invested so far. Do you want to throw it away now?

Back up, walk away, crack open a cold (insert beverage of choice here), and take a deep breath. I've read about all sorts of different, seemingly insurmountable problems on this forum, and people always seem to come up with solutions.

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