Blisters and Osmosis Removal for Beginners !!!

[bdurham]

Hello,

I am helping a friend of mine repair some blisters that he has in the cockpit of his Bristol 32'. We have never done repair like this and would love some info on the best way to take care of the problem.

We have access to power sanders and grinders.
Do you know if there is anywhere online that we could order materials as we are in Colorado and marine supply stores aren't readily at hand.


thanks
looking forward to hearing from anyone!

[minaret]

Osmosis in a cockpit? Seems unlikely. Sure these aren't just blisters in paint? Osmotic blistering generally occurs below the waterline.

[bdurham]

well i guess they could just be blisters. so usually you don't get any type of osmosis in the cockpit?

so if it is just paint blisters all we need do is sand and repaint?

[Vasco]

Probably just voids under the gelcoat. Grind, fill and wet sand and wet sand and spray and wet sand and wet sand.

[skipmac]

Could be bubbles in the gelcoat or a bad paint job. Has the boat been painted? Have you tried to pop a couple to see what's inside?

[bdurham]

we haven't messed around with popping them yet. if its just bubbles in the gelcoat, what would be the best way to fix them?

also what is meant by wet sand?

[skipmac]

You should pop a couple, open them up to see how deep and how far they go. Will help you determine the best way to deal with them.

Wet sand: get some waterproof very fine sandpaper, wet the glass and sand. Do this for very fine finish also keeps the paper from clogging