We had a fabulous work day today. A whole bunch of folks came out to roll on more epoxy, drink beer, eat and be merry. We worked hard though and managed to get 3 pretty nice coats on... the final three.
We rolled on a nice coat of un-thickened epoxy first thing in the morning. After lunch we mixed a heaping half cup of West System 422 barrier coat to 600 grams of epoxy and then added 120 grams of hardener. The 422 thickened up the epoxy quite a bit so the next two layers are a bit thicker. We also had a bit of trouble keeping the epoxy from setting up in our roller pans. I think the 422 additive changed the thermal properties of the epoxy in the pot. We went through quite a few roller pans having to throw out the ones that started to cure up. Instead of heating up and smoothly transitioning into a hard state, the epoxy took on a texture that seemed like a bunch of spiderwebs were mixed into our pans. Adding more epoxy early stopped the reaction but only temporarily so we were forced to throw out the roller pans when this started to happen.
For the most part, the finish looks great with just a hint of orange peal.
 |
| A close up of some of the worse orange peal. The swirls above are from the 1/4 sheet palm sander. Most of the hull is much smoother. This is from the side that we did when we were tired and had difficulty controlling the cure time. |
I noticed one spot, about the size of a lap top, that was missed with the third coat. I plan to lightly sand and re-role that area and any more that I find. We were pretty tired by the third coat.
 |
| A view of the bow with just a single coat of plain epoxy. |
I found other issues like the bow section in the image above. We had a lot of goopy epoxy that was starting to firm up on this section. Basically some shallow lumps. I got out my 5" orbital with used 60 grit paper and it did a wonderful job smoothing it right out. Followed by a quick sanding with the palm sander with 60 grit ensured I got a fare surface. Because there was some thickening in the epoxy, the final layer was thicker and could take a little extra sanding. The results were better than I expected and there is no reason to re-roll this are.
 |
| It felt pretty good to be finished with the day. That is my wife Laura on my right. She is always helpful. |
After scrubbing down the hull with soap and water, sanding commenced. It really seems to be a chore to wash this hull down. I've done it many times by now and I suspect I'm going to keep disliking that job. When it is finished, maybe I can get my wife to take over, she even likes washing cars. The figure below shows the sanding on the side and bottom aft of the hull. I started with 60 grit on a small 1/4 sheet orbital sander. It works pretty well at getting the finish smooth as you can see in the picture. I've already sanded to 80 grit near the transom. I'll probably go over it all lightly with 100 grit before I'm done.
October 14,
I've almost completed the initial sanding of this side (above picture) of the hull. It looks great. There are a few small places that are going to require touch up but that's normal. There is another area on the bottom of the other side about the size of a writing desk that seemed to not get the tip treatment. I've lightly sanded that down and will re-roll with the other small areas. Careful inspection of the other side did not reveal any issues at all. I think that side will sand down much easier. We were much fresher on that side and the temperature was cooler. I may have pushed my help just a little bit too much but they are great people and the results will be fabulous.
October 16,
Still sanding... and sanding. It is pretty hard work. Not as difficult as using the belt sander and without all the fiberglass itching issues. I should never see the glass again but I still have to put some muscle into the palm sander. I have a 5 inch orbital that I've use (see above) in a few places where the epoxy got applied poorly and thickly but that tool is hard to hold and you need to keep it moving. It also might take off too much epoxy so I'm happy with the steady but slow progress of the palm sanders.
October 21,
I made quite a bit of progress over the weekend. I still have a bit to do but I think in another week or two, I'll be ready to start building the structure to roll the boat. This is an exciting and frustrating point. I've always said that you take the building process one step at a time but when you're this close to completing a major step, your mind naturally wanders to the next step. In some ways that's good because it is necessary to fully realize your next step before you take it. In other ways it's bad because it makes you anxious to be through and that can make you rush critical work. At these times you just have to take a deep breath and step back and find that Zen of working in the moment.
October 28,
I got through the rough sanding over the weekend. I also recoated the few areas that needed it. The epoxy with the barrier coat additive was very hard to roll. It was 60 degrees F (15.5 degrees C) and I was using the fast hardener. I think the temperature was the issue. It was like rolling molasses. This was fine for the one large area but it quickly became apparent that I should be using a brush on the smaller areas. This worked much better. I just had to follow up a few time to take care of the vertical areas where the epoxy had a tendency to slump when spread too thick. I just lightly brushed the slumped parts back to where they belong with a near dry brush. This remove some thickness as well as fixed the issue. Once the epoxy became tacky it will stay were it belongs.
I've also been talking about using the orbital sander almost exclusively for finish sanding and with the filler. I would have liked to use a long board sander for the filler but I just don't have a set up for that. The long board would help reduce subtle ripples that I can still feel occasionally along the hull. I think I'm going to have to live with them. Once I put the first coat of primer/paint on the hull, I'll address anything that stands out. I really think the hull is going to look great regardless. The long board sanders are an expensive setup requiring a commercial grade air compressor for continuous operation. If you've got the equipment use it during the fairing phase. Otherwise the orbitals work pretty well.
The next steps will include a wash down with soap again to remove the blush and reveal any more pits and dips that need filling. Sand down the new epoxy with 60 grit using the orbital sander. transition to 80 and then 100 grit for the final finish.
I've almost completed the initial sanding of this side (above picture) of the hull. It looks great. There are a few small places that are going to require touch up but that's normal. There is another area on the bottom of the other side about the size of a writing desk that seemed to not get the tip treatment. I've lightly sanded that down and will re-roll with the other small areas. Careful inspection of the other side did not reveal any issues at all. I think that side will sand down much easier. We were much fresher on that side and the temperature was cooler. I may have pushed my help just a little bit too much but they are great people and the results will be fabulous.
October 16,
Still sanding... and sanding. It is pretty hard work. Not as difficult as using the belt sander and without all the fiberglass itching issues. I should never see the glass again but I still have to put some muscle into the palm sander. I have a 5 inch orbital that I've use (see above) in a few places where the epoxy got applied poorly and thickly but that tool is hard to hold and you need to keep it moving. It also might take off too much epoxy so I'm happy with the steady but slow progress of the palm sanders.
October 21,
I made quite a bit of progress over the weekend. I still have a bit to do but I think in another week or two, I'll be ready to start building the structure to roll the boat. This is an exciting and frustrating point. I've always said that you take the building process one step at a time but when you're this close to completing a major step, your mind naturally wanders to the next step. In some ways that's good because it is necessary to fully realize your next step before you take it. In other ways it's bad because it makes you anxious to be through and that can make you rush critical work. At these times you just have to take a deep breath and step back and find that Zen of working in the moment.
October 28,
I got through the rough sanding over the weekend. I also recoated the few areas that needed it. The epoxy with the barrier coat additive was very hard to roll. It was 60 degrees F (15.5 degrees C) and I was using the fast hardener. I think the temperature was the issue. It was like rolling molasses. This was fine for the one large area but it quickly became apparent that I should be using a brush on the smaller areas. This worked much better. I just had to follow up a few time to take care of the vertical areas where the epoxy had a tendency to slump when spread too thick. I just lightly brushed the slumped parts back to where they belong with a near dry brush. This remove some thickness as well as fixed the issue. Once the epoxy became tacky it will stay were it belongs.
I've also been talking about using the orbital sander almost exclusively for finish sanding and with the filler. I would have liked to use a long board sander for the filler but I just don't have a set up for that. The long board would help reduce subtle ripples that I can still feel occasionally along the hull. I think I'm going to have to live with them. Once I put the first coat of primer/paint on the hull, I'll address anything that stands out. I really think the hull is going to look great regardless. The long board sanders are an expensive setup requiring a commercial grade air compressor for continuous operation. If you've got the equipment use it during the fairing phase. Otherwise the orbitals work pretty well.
The next steps will include a wash down with soap again to remove the blush and reveal any more pits and dips that need filling. Sand down the new epoxy with 60 grit using the orbital sander. transition to 80 and then 100 grit for the final finish.
