A Photo & Discussion Forum for Wharram Design Enthusiasts
i have just thrown the keel for the second hull on my t26.remembering the awkward sanding required to lay the 6 inch tape down on the first hull i was looking for a way to avoid it second time round. what i did was before the epoxy fillet had cured and was still soft i added the the tape to it and brushed it down with a brush of unthickened epoxy.i owe this technique to rory mcdougal who used it while building cookie. less sanding = good.
cheers paul
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Paul,
I work the same way and it has all the benefits already described here: less sanding, better bond between glass and fillet, saves time and saves the kind of work which I hate most: SANDING. It also gives a perfect finish and looks much better. Unfortunately I found out about this method only when I was doing the keel of the 2nd hull. Better late than never, I guess.
Ralf
I agree with Axel,
best to wet out the tape first as you get perfect wet-out of the cloth and is less messy than trying to brush dripping resin onto vertical or overhanging joints to be glassed. I find that an offcut of plywood with a bin bag taped round it works well for an easy disposable laminating surface to wet out the cloth tape.
The other thing I've found by moving back to chilly UK again after so many years in the sun is that I always have a heat gun at hand when I do my glassing here. I use it to heat up the resin in the pot and also to lightly heat the resin as I apply it to the resin & glass cloth as I wet it out. It gives an almost instant wet out of the cloth. Once the glass tape is on the job I also use the heat gun to wave around again as it helps to keep the resin thin and runny and i find that most air bubbles come out extra easy just with stippling with the paint brush - no need for glass roller that can mis-shapen the soft epoxy fillet.
An old hair dryer works just as well - although probably best to buy the wife a new one first!!!!
If you have glass that you want to sand back smooth again later, I always wait until the glass is tacky then apply another coat of resin with microballoons. This completely fills the weave of the glass and means you sand less of the cloth away at the end and it is far easier to sand also.
Although probably not recommended....................I sanded Cookies cabin & decks after glassing with just 60 grit paper by hand then painted 2 coats of 2 part polyurethane. No fussy sanding, no undercoats etc. gave me a great (3foot finish) and lasted in the tropics for 10 years!! Moral of the story - get it on and go sailing!!!!! (Different if you are after a showboat!!)
Cheers, Rory
Buy a big roll of cling wrap lay it over any lamination you want to sand and bingo no clogging of sand paper.
Wet on wet/tacky is always good especially glass over thickened stuff.
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