And So it Begins . . . Knottybuoyz' New Project

[Zach]

To get rid of bubbles...

On the first coat, put it on thin. Mix up an ounce or so per square foot to coat and roll it on lightly. No dry spots, just keep going back over it with a squeegee. Let it soak it up for 10 minutes or so and come back with the squeegee and press about as hard as you can in hopes of taking it all back off. No ridges, or drips, curtains or sags allowed.

The squeegee breaks the surface tension, and wets out all the pinholes that are currently offgassing. The viscocity of epoxy is high enough that it seals a pinhole rather than displacing the air. If, you come along and scrape the surface it takes the epoxy over the air pocket away and the little drab it takes to start wetting out the air pocket and displacing the air.

It doesn't really matter if the shop is getting hotter if you do it that way. Most folks do epoxy coating after the heat of the day as things are cooling down, or force heat into the tent until everything is 110... cut off the heater, and mix the goo then go to town as the surfaces are cooling down.

I normally use fast hardener for the first coat, squeegee, then roll with slower stuff until the job is done so it levels out nicely.

Don't go around sharing that trick on the internet or anything, I always think it is funny to do fiberglass work with divinycell or corecell out in the summer sun at high noon just to have folks walk across the yard to see how horrible a job that must be turning out to be, what kind of lunatic... "Wait a minute, HOW are there NO air bubbles in that layup?"
The other option is to use a propane torch and hold it about 6 inches away to heat up the resin, and work fast enough that it doesn't heat up the wood or laminate. You'll see it shine and start to lay out like oil based paint. Once it starts to lay out, move on down the line. Heat cuts the viscosity and lets it flow out. A heat gun works well too, but electrical cord marks in resin are ugly.

Cheers,

Zach

[knottybuoyz]

Thanks again Zach.

Ahhhhhhh, gotcha. Looks like I'll be sanding that first job down!

I'll try a section tomorrow with the roll & squeegee then heat gun or propane torch tricks. I have a spreader that goes on the propane torch to use in that manner as well as an electrical heat gun. It's easy to get the shed up to 90 or 95 degs then start rolling but how do I keep the sweat that'll be pouring off of me out of the epoxy?

I have medium speed hardener in the Sticky Stuff dispenser right now. I also have some slow but would have to mix it manually. Not a big deal. Fast hardener in 95 degs I don't wanna guess how fast I'll have to move my fat ass to get it on before it kicks off. The medium was pretty quick this morning and it was only 85 in the shed.

Standby, this could get sticky!

[Zach]

Indeed... I normally go for 16 ounce mixes, which for the first pin hole filling goes about 16 square feet.

A squeegee with a propane torch attached? I've never heard of such a critter!

[Zach]

Oh... and to keep sweat at bay, a dollar store sweatshirt with a rag or two wrapped around each wrist stuffed in the gloves.

When you wear a respirator, take a T-shirt and put your face through the neck and tie the sleeves behind your head, then tuck the face mask vent into the shirt with a rag tied around like a bandana...

You look like one of the sand guys from the Movie Dune when it is all said and done, but you can keep the sweat out of the paint job for a half hour or so.

[knottybuoyz]

Originally Posted by Zach

You look like one of the sand guys from the Movie Dune when it is all said and done, but you can keep the sweat out of the paint job for a half hour or so.

I always thought there was something of a resemblance to the Sandpeople of Star Wars!


The wife makes some cool bandana thingies with 'Sham Wow' sewn into the headband. Works great. Just wring it out and keep sanding! PM me your mailing address and I'll get her to whip you up a couple.

[knottybuoyz]

Today I went over the area I coated with epoxy yesterday. I first took the shiny stuff off with the RO then hit it with the Flexicats. Both 80 grit.



You can see the big shiny spot running down the hull. That's a low area. You can't see it and you couldn't feel it. I'm glad I did it this way. I now know more of what I'm up against. Overall I'm very happy with the way it's turning out. I may actually get a decent looking hull after all (if I don't screw it up).

Web log updated: M/V She:Kon: It's all part of the learning curve

[Zach]

Nice work!

For the small shiny dots, I go over them with red scotch brite pads. They work better than finger sanding divots into the hull for the next coat.

Rolling another coat won't fill a low spot, after you sand it down its still the same only the surface coat is thicker... but you can spot it in on areas like your vertical line.

Circle the big shiny low spots before sanding.... with pencil, sand inside the lines and take off the shine. Come back with a chip brush and paint epoxy on once or twice while you are working on something else. If I'm doing glueups, I normally use the excess on stuff like this rather than purpose mixing a batch.

A taste of cabosil, makes it a touch thicker... but not so much that it changes the color. Once I hit resin coating, unless things are bad wrong somewhere I don't go back to the putty stage, as you don't get any bleed through of colors in primer or any of the pinholes and divots that fairing putties are apt to have until the primer is built up.

If you spot in with resin those spots, they aren't low any more, and if the whole rest of the boat is level... you are good to start priming.

Works the same for spot priming when you get to high build primers. Get a recommended build thickness on the high spots, spot prime the low spots... Then don't sand it so hard that you burn through!

Most shops hit the high spots and burn through, then re-spray the primer over the whole boat. Which means there is still nothing on the high spots... It works a lot better if you've got a low spot that shows hows texture somewhere to apply primer with a squeegee to those localized areas, or a 4 inch cabinet and door foam roller and then come back and shoot the whole boat 4-6 hours later.

If and when you do get a divot or pinhole in finish primer, Evercoat 407 Ultrasmooth and blue hardener....

Zach

[knottybuoyz]

Hey Zack.

I spotted some epoxy on the lows according to your suggestion. Worked great! I didn't have any red scotch brite pads but the green worked pretty well.

Managed to get some epoxy on the bulwarks yesterday morning before the heavens opened up. The shed roof leaks so I was getting pee'd on. The storm blew over and I got back out in the afternoon to get the port side & transom coated. This morning I got all the way around the boat with another coat.



Web log updated: M/V She:Kon: Monsoons and Epoxy

[knottybuoyz]

I got an early start, 07:00 this morning. I knew I was in for a long day.



The plan was to get one complete coat on the keel & bottom panels before it got too hot. I didn't make it. By noon I was wasted. Only made it about 2/3's of the way around.



Took me almost 2 hours just to wipe the keel & bottom down before I started. This is one freakin' big boat!

Web log updated: M/V She:Kon: Got an early start

[knottybuoyz]

So technically the hull is now waterproof!

That bald spot on the stbd side got coated this morning and I worked my way around the bottom panels so they got their second coat. I'll go out this evening when it's a little cooler and hit the stbd side bottom again and try to get a second coat on the keel from the step ladder with an extension handle.



Been a tough slog without my shop helper. Nobody said this was gonna be easy. Just an overwhelming amount of real estate that's gotta be covered. I have to say I am more than pleased with the way it's turning out.

[minaret]

Looking good. Hope you aren't missing any bond windows or experiencing too much blush. Are you using the thumbprint test?

[knottybuoyz]

Originally Posted by minaret

Looking good. Hope you aren't missing any bond windows or experiencing too much blush. Are you using the thumbprint test?

Staying within the recoat window as spec'd by the epoxy formulation Minaret. It's a no blush epoxy and even with the humidity (which hasn't been too bad) we've had lately I haven't seen any at all.

Thanks for looking in.

[knottybuoyz]

Sanding off the shiny stuff. Didn't make a sanding movie. I know you're all disappointed!



Filling in a few low spots.



Goin' for a boat ride! They yacht is rigged & ready. I'm worried the Jeep won't be able to pull it!

[knottybuoyz]

Oh look! I got that part sanded!


Oh sh*t! I still gotta do that part!

[knottybuoyz]

Warmest & most humid day of the summer so far. It was 80 F and wicked humid this morning when I got to the shed. So humid the sanded epoxy wouldn't even turn to dust. It just balled up and stuck to the sand paper!

Kept at it though! I have a big pedestal fan that I keep blowing up my butt to keep me cool! Started working my way down the port side from the bow to stern. Tough slogging though.



I should get one side done today and maybe get the chine sanded neatly too. I have to do that by hand so I don't sand it all off.

Web log updated: M/V She:Kon: Around and around we go!