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Sonosailor · 28-03-2007, 05:56

I'm going to be doing a few square feet of fibreglass repair on the boat, then re-gelcoating about 60 square feet, which will include the repairs and some messes former owners tried to cover with awlgrip. I hope to use isophthalic polyester resin and isophthalic polyester gelcoat, but it shouldn't matter as I believe they all act the same during repair, sanding, grinding. The fibreglass repairs will involve sanding out cracks down to a depth of say 1/4+" , building out with matting and roving, and sanding down to a uniform surface.

What ELECTRIC tools would you folks purchase to assist you, if you had none to start with? eg: palm sander, grinder, drill attachment, and appropriate power level; brand name, grit level, etc.

I'm also interested in what you folks might use for a filler for fairing before gelcoat application, and if there are any power tools that work well for sanding down gelcoat for uniformity prior to the use of wetpaper.

I'll accept any other tricks of the trade, as well;e.g.: if you have a special low-cost sprayer, or an air-dry product that worked better than others.

28-03-2007, 05:56	#1
Sonosailor Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Fredericton, NB, Canada in the summer and fall; Caribbean in winter and spring aboard Cat Tales. Boat: FP Tobago 35 - Cat Tales Posts: 356	Tools For Fibreglass and Gelcoat Repair I'm going to be doing a few square feet of fibreglass repair on the boat, then re-gelcoating about 60 square feet, which will include the repairs and some messes former owners tried to cover with awlgrip. I hope to use isophthalic polyester resin and isophthalic polyester gelcoat, but it shouldn't matter as I believe they all act the same during repair, sanding, grinding. The fibreglass repairs will involve sanding out cracks down to a depth of say 1/4+" , building out with matting and roving, and sanding down to a uniform surface. What ELECTRIC tools would you folks purchase to assist you, if you had none to start with? eg: palm sander, grinder, drill attachment, and appropriate power level; brand name, grit level, etc. I'm also interested in what you folks might use for a filler for fairing before gelcoat application, and if there are any power tools that work well for sanding down gelcoat for uniformity prior to the use of wetpaper. I'll accept any other tricks of the trade, as well;e.g.: if you have a special low-cost sprayer, or an air-dry product that worked better than others.