Re: A battered hull

Posted by Laszlo on May 21, 2006

I don't sand. Well, only a little. You can avoid most of the sanding by putting on lots of very thin layers of epoxy instead of a couple of thick ones. It'll take more time, but less sanding.

Use lots of tape and plastic sheets to mask off all the areas where you don't want epoxy.

Clean up all spills and drips immediately while wet. If they harden, use a carbide scraper to get the worst of it off before it cures completely.

For big globs, use a Dremel to grind off the epoxy. It goes through the stuff like a hot knife through butter. Only touchup sanding required.

Get a really good quality sander and sand paper. Skimping on your tools is false economy. Consider the difference in price between the good sander and the cheap sander. Divide the difference by the national minimum wage. That'll tell you how many hours of sanding you'll have to save to justify the good sander. And for those whos say this is a hobby and fun time shouldn't have a monetary value I say - if it's so much fun to sand, why does everyon complain?

There's also the practice effect. The more boats you build, the easier it is to do a good job that needs only minimal sanding.

Finlly, you could also reduce your expectations. You're making a boat, not a coffee table. Go for a 10 foot finish (looks great from 10 feet away) instead of Amish furniture perfection. When you're in the water, it'll be just as glossy as a coffee table and any drips will be assumed to be water.

Have fun,

Laszlo

In Response to: Re: A battered hull by Ray Baxter on May 20, 2006

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