Hi Brian,

  I can't answer your questions about quantity of epoxy or micro ballons (I will be watching this thread for the answers myself.) The "tipping out" is a finish procedure for epoxy or paint. Once the material is brushed or rolled on, the surface is lightly brushed with the tip of a foam or quality bristle brush. The 'tipping' is done before the surface begins to set and removes imperfections left by the application tool. The term 'brushed' may be misleading in my description - it's more of a long, flowing motion (light pressure) with the tip in continuous contact with the surface of the wet finish. The step is not moving the finish around at all, more like ' putting on the pretty.'

  Nice to have a second set of hands here, one to brush and one to tip.

  Hope that helps, Bob.

  Afterthought, here's a video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gjyzc4c9JnE

  In the video they use a tack cloth. I have heard negative comments about that with epoxy.

Hey guys,

Quantities - I bought a pound of graphite powder a few years ago, coated the bottoms of 4 boats (1 pirogue, 2 kayaks and a sailing dinghy), did annual (sometimes more) touch-ups and still have enough left over to do another kayak.

Phenolic microballoons are similar - I did a WD12 bottom and all the fairing on the sailing dinghy out of a quart of balloons, with leftovers.

Epoxy - Balloons and graphite actually reduce the amount of epoxy that you use, so the amount in the kit should be a good guide. If these are your first ever  build, you may use a bit more since everyone wastes some learning how to work with it.

Finally,NEVER EVER use a tack cloth on a surface that you intend to cover with epoxy. They contain silicones which contaminate the surface and cause fisheyes. You'll justhave to sand it all off again.

Have fun,

Laszlo

Thanks for the replies. I will watch the video before I start. Just finished tacking the deck and hull. Having fun so far.

 Brian 

I am building the night heron hybird. I am getting ready to glass the hull. I too plan to use a graphite/epoxy mix below the waterline. If I understand the process correctly, I can use an epoxy/micro baloon mix for the first application then fill the weave with the epoxy/graphite mix. Is this correct? Thanks, Mark

Mark,

Wet out the glass with unthickend epoxy. Fill the weave with epoxy/ballloon mix (first coat runny, second coat stiff). Sand and fair the bottom. Apply graphite/epoxy mix.

Laszlo

Thanks Laszlo, I understand the process now.