Fiberglass help!

[Megan]

I did my first fiberglassing on the inside of my stitch and glue canoe. Many many first timer errors. I pulled at my cloth too much and have many ripples everywhere.

I am trying to figure out how to rescue my boat. I can lightly sand and get rid of the big mistakes and accept the little ones. I can sand aggressively and go through my Fiberglass inspots. If I do that I'm not sure if I should do another coat of resin or is I should put on a layer of lighter Fiberglass.

Any feedback is welcome.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Paint is an option. Sanding it down to bare wood would be a waste.

Patch the bad spots, it will amaze you how, if you SCRAPE the bad spots, and lay a patch, how they will become invisible after feathering the edge with a Scraper, and then varnish !

It works !

The hull looks fine !


Jim

 

[Megan]

I used 2 fill coats so far. I was contemplating doing more fill coats to even things out. The parts that lay flat are well coated.

If I painted it would I essentially leave it bumpy or sand flat first?

 

[Jim Dodd]

You can power sand , but if you see the weave pattern, and quit there..

I'd hand sand and live with the bumps ! Tell people they are to prevent slipping.

 

[Rod Tait (Orca Boats)]

I would go at it with a cabinet scraper to knock down any high spots and then power sand flat areas and hand sand higher areas. Then skim on two more thin coats or better yet roll on with foam rollers designed for epoxy. Then redo the process and varnish. If there are definite folds or puckers in the glass, then patch as Jim says. They should disappear with feathering in edges and adding more epoxy.

 

[Gil Cramer]

Form follows function!
If the canoe is a user, sand lightly and paint the interior with flat paint. Keep the canoe as lightweight as possible. The heavier the canoe, the less it will be used.
If the canoe is a show boat, sand and epoxy over and over until you are satisfied with results. I have never had a canoe that I could use and still take to a boat show