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Hi I am looking for information regarding workflow and techniques for pre coating and glassing ply panels before assembly.B oat will be a Tiki 26. ..Cheers Pat

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Hi Patrick,

A couple of tips I've picked up about pre-coating plywood with epoxy:-

-  Tip the resin on and spread it with a squeegee.  It's much quicker than a brush or roller, and there's less waste.

-  After spreading the resin, roll on a layer of peel ply.  It's not cheap but it saves a hell of a lot of sanding time, saves wasting expensive resin (no point in putting too much on only to sand it off), and produces a clean even surface ready for bonding, with no amine blush.  In case you've not come across peel ply, it's a very fine weave nylon type of fabric, which epoxy will soak through but not stick to.  After the resin has cured you rip the peel ply off, and if you've used the right amount of resin you're left with a perfect surface underneath.

All the best,

Rob

Thanks Rob

Peel ply I have not used befor but I will during this build... thnaks for the tip!  What I was wondering is would it be possible to Glass the side panals decks ect after cutting them out but before installing them? 

many people precoat. I don't. Epoxy is expensive. I also don't sheath the hulls,deck with fiberglass. I use xynole polyester fabric for sheathing. It has better peel, impact and abrasion resistance. I use biaxial tapes for reinforcements. Sanding green epoxy is the only time we have seen any sensitization in our shop, excepting a couple of people that showed an allergy to the West System Hardener. The phenols in the hardener are the issue. One type causes sensitization and the other type is more of a delayed problem. This is according to the WS tech people. All of the phenols carry health risks. Green (hard but fresh) that will get into your skin pores not to mention your lungs and eyes. Try to not sand epoxy that is really fresh. If you need to enviromental controls are essential IMO

Two tips I learned from Thomas (Tiki 26 Tsunamichaser):

1)  pre-coat with a squeegee and remove extra (for re-use on the next sheet) with a paint roller, rather than peel-ply -- like so:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Xna-uKWmg

2) if you do end up with a run or need to smooth out a fillet, use isopropyl alcohol to "sand" out any blemishes when the epoxy is only partially cured (tacky).  Done right with a gloved finger, this technique lets you rub out runs (a scratchy sponge helps) or even sculpt fillets into perfection, and avoid sanding completely (if you use a non-blush epoxy like Silvertip).  At least with System 3 epoxy, we've seen no affect on bond or fillet strength.

Thanks Scott

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