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how critical is it to fully fill the weave on fill coat?

T

tiagosantos

Paddler
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
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323
Location
Port Coquitlam BC
We finally got our arses back into gear on the Black Pearl build. We're on our first round of fiberglassing stuff, starting with the inside of the hull. One thin layer of glass and epoxy down, with a fairly light fill coat added already.

Since we're not all that amazing at doing any of this, we've definitely got some spots that are pretty smooth with the weave completely covered, and spots where the weave can still be felt. From what I've read, the extra epoxy does nothing for strength, but a smooth surface makes for easier cleaning and less trapped dirt. I mean.. Doesn't sound too critical :D

I'm tempted to leave it as is, half in the interest of using tonight and tomorrow to move on, half to save the extra weight and cost of epoxy. Cheap and light has kind of been the theme of this build haha. Every penny we save on the build will go straight into the paint budget! It's a rolling boat, it has to be pretty..!

Any thoughts are always appreciated :)
 
Sorry I can't offer you any advice but I would be really interested in seeing pics of your progress on this kayak. Are you strip building it or stitch and glue? If stitch and glue did you purchase a kit through Clearstream? Is it a first time build for you? Thanks for the info.
Doug
 
tiagosantos said:
We finally got our arses back into gear on the Black Pearl build. We're on our first round of fiberglassing stuff, starting with the inside of the hull. One thin layer of glass and epoxy down, with a fairly light fill coat added already.

Since we're not all that amazing at doing any of this, we've definitely got some spots that are pretty smooth with the weave completely covered, and spots where the weave can still be felt. From what I've read, the extra epoxy does nothing for strength, but a smooth surface makes for easier cleaning and less trapped dirt. :)
Click to expand...
You do not have any areas of "dry" glass, correct? All the glass was wet down, then squeegeed to remove excess resin, yes? If so, and these areas will never be exposed to day long sunlight, that is adequate, and more resin will not make the boat stronger. OTOH, if some of the interior will be subjected to regular bouts of sunshine, some sort of protection from UV damage is required. Varnish, gel coat, or two-part LPU should be applied, which requires completely filling the weave, and sanding so the paint or gel coat or LPU will adhere.

The System Three Epoxy Book details these requirements, available as a pdf file online. Google for it. Should come up.
 
As Dave just said, as long as you don't have any pinholes or problem areas you should be OK.
When I built a few canoes, I always left the inside 'textured' ..... glossy=slippery. Slippery is not so much an issue with a kayak. With a rolling kayak there probably won't be a lot of wear on the inside; for a touring or day paddle boat I'd make sure there's good coverage (or even a 2nd glass layer) where the paddler's (sometimes sandy) heels will rest.
If you have a reasonably smooth surface, it will accept varnish or paint (thin the first coat); it doesn't have to be absolutely smooth.
Do give the cured epoxy a good scrub and rinse with water before sanding and putting on any finish (or adding more epoxy fill coats, if there's a gap of more than a day or so between layers).
 
paddlesores said:
Sorry I can't offer you any advice but I would be really interested in seeing pics of your progress on this kayak. Are you strip building it or stitch and glue? If stitch and glue did you purchase a kit through Clearstream? Is it a first time build for you? Thanks for the info.
Doug
Click to expand...

It's a stitch and glue from Clearstream and yes, first time build! As far as I can tell, it's really one of the simpler boats to build..

Astoriadave said:
You do not have any areas of "dry" glass, correct? All the glass was wet down, then squeegeed to remove excess resin, yes? If so, and these areas will never be exposed to day long sunlight, that is adequate, and more resin will not make the boat stronger. OTOH, if some of the interior will be subjected to regular bouts of sunshine, some sort of protection from UV damage is required.
Click to expand...

Definitely no dry glass! Everything was squeegeed but there most definitely were bits with too much resin. We were kinda doing the 'pour and squeegee' method rather than using a roller, which I have a feeling made it a bit harder than it had to be. I've seen videos of the more experienced folks doing it and it "seemed" easy :p

Don't think we did too bad for our first time, but there were some lessons to be learned for sure haha.

As it is a rolling boat, I don't think the interior will be seeing much sun.

JohnAbercrombie said:
...for a touring or day paddle boat I'd make sure there's good coverage (or even a 2nd glass layer) where the paddler's (sometimes sandy) heels will rest.
Click to expand...

Good point, we may do that anyway even if I don't expect a ton of wear on the boat.. It shouldn't add a ton of weight but it'll be easier to do now than later :)

Thanks for the tips, everyone.
 
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