Restoration Update

[ashm86]

I have sanded both hulls completely starting out with 60 grit going down to 150 grit paper. They are in pretty nice shape now. Nice and smooth, no longer any risk of flaking any more. I have noticed some low spots now that the majority of sanding is done and would like to fill and long board the hulls. What can I use that will be cheap and easy to sand? I read that I can mix sawdust with epoxy and just use that, is that true? I also want to do this to a repair that was previously done to the deck. Epoxy was used to repair the incorrect placement of an inspection cover. It now looks like a big doughnut of epoxy. I would like to use the epoxy/sawdust filler to feather the edges out and try and make it look nicer.

How long would I have to wait until I could sand the filler?

On the way home from work I am going to stop by west marine to see what epoxies they carry. I know they carry the West Epoxy system(are they the same company?). I am going to see if they have boat repair/restoration books as well.

Andrew

[mattaipan]

Hi Andrew

I think epoxy and sawdust would be a bad move, I'm guessing it would be harder to sand, if its West System epoxy, then they should have filler powders such as microspheres and I think microlight which is a light brown coloured powder, they are not that expensive either, I think it would save you some effort by using these.

You generally can sand the day after application depending on temperture and also with West System there are fast and slow hardeners for the resin, fast for cooler conditions and slower for warmer. Use a bit of sandpaper to start with, then once you've taken the skim layer off the filler, change the paper, because it will build up with gunk to begin with, after that initial layer is taken off, it should be quite easy to fair.

Good Luck

Matt

[h20melon]

I agree with Matt

Neil