Ariel #414

[Bill]

Oh 3rdman... Will I post this before our omnipresent moderator Bill does? "If you use the 'search' button at the top of the page"...

Thanks!

[mbd]

A busy weekend - grinding. Lots of it.

BTW, when I cut along the coach roof and toe rail, I cut as close to the edges as my circular saw guard would allow. Don't do that. Add maybe a half or an inch or so to that. The thin strip along the edges is difficult to get at with a sander, and impossible to grind at the right angle for a scarf joint. You can still dig the material underneath the edges out and stuff thickened epoxy into the crevices...

[mbd]

And my first ever fiberglass job - phase one.

First, I slathered as much unthickened epoxy into the cracks as I could and wetted out the bare glass. Then I thickened what was left to fill the big gaps. Next I cut some of my 8.7 oz 4" fiberglass tape into 2" strips which I laid on the seams then wet out with unthickened epoxy.

I tried to roll out bubbles and squeegy off the excess before the epoxy gelled and became unworkable - with mediocre results. I got a can of slow hardener last weekend after I almost detonated my first big batch of epoxy, which gave me more time to work, but still, I attempted to do too big of an area at one time...

I would have liked to finish off with 4" strips and cloth to complete the scarf joints, but I ran out of daylight and weekend. Too bad, because the whole chemical vs. mechanical bond deal, but what can you do? Plan better, I guess.

I sure wish I had one of the experts looking over my shoulder! The job leaves much to be desired I'm sure, but at least the deck is getting put together instead of taken apart for a change. Besides, I can always grind it back down and try again, right?

[CapnK]

Mike -

I've been meaning to post that it sure looks like any 'expert looking' was done from *between* your shoulders, not over them. Nice work, she's looking good!!!

[mbd]

Thanks Kurt - I'm currently waiting for the deckwork from last weekend to cure. Almost 4 days and the whole side deck is still tacky!

I had switched to the slow hardener (West System 206) to give myself more time to work with the epoxy, but the high temps in Maine since Saturday have been barely above 60 and drizzly. I've got four pots that I used for mixing various batches, and none have hardened - and I don't think even I could screw up mixing four different batches! I'm really hoping a nice sunny warm day will harden it up.

[mbd]

I've got four pots that I used for mixing various batches, and none have hardened - and I don't think even I could screw up mixing four different batches!

Ummmm... I've been wrong before, too.

So, I'm using West System epoxy (availability, reputation, documentation, marketing , etc.) They have this handy "pump system" where the 5:1 ratio of resin and hardener is measured for you - all you have to do is count the number of pumps of resin and hardener. Not so bad. Worked great the first time I tried it. About as idiot-proof as they could make it really.

Well, after finding the epoxy still tacky last night, four days after finishing the job, I began combing through old emails and rereading the West System User guide, trying to figure out what the heck was going on. Then it hit me. 5:1 ratio. 5:1 ratio. Wait a minute! The pumps... The @#!$# pumps! I had actually done it. I had outsmarted the idiot-proof "pump system".

I don't know, I guess I was really preoccupied with other things, like: Am I doing the scarf joints properly? Should I be using the 17oz biax, or the 8 oz cloth now? Have I washed and ground down the previous layer enough? Can I get this done before dark?

And I kept thinking 5:1 ratio, 5:1 ratio. Don't screw it up. So that's what I did: 5 pumps of resin, 1 pump of hardener. Over and over and over again. I did indeed mismeasure every single batch of epoxy I mixed last weekend. ALL of them. The entire day's worth of epoxy and glass and filler on the starboard side deck. What I did in reality, was mix a whole bunch of 25:1 resin goo.

Needless to say, I'll be learning how to remove and clean up uncured epoxy this weekend...

[tha3rdman]

geesh, Before you go stripping off all that mess, I'd call West Sys, and see if theres and easier way even baking it would be easier then scraping all that crud. I wonder if some time at 140 deg, or so, would cure it.