The chines were covered with FG tape and as I learned at last week's launching, a single coat of epoxy is not enough to fill the weave in the tape. I really did know that but it was clearly demonstrated by the slow leak last weekend. Two more coats of epoxy - and the weave still is not filled and the edge of the tape stands out sharply. I am disappointed.
Yesterday I applied the first coat of primer to the exterior of the hull. I am using KILZ water-based primer/sealer/undercoat. The first coat was thinned 20% by weight, and looked a bit like whitewash over the epoxy coated hull (yes, the primer is white).
That first coat was just rolled on - I didn't try the roll-and-tip technique. The forward section of the bottom received a second coat (I had a bit left over, and the first coat had dried). I did experiment with the roll-and-tip method and it seemed to work alright.
Certainly, the second coat covered better but still shows every little bump, wrinkle, scratch, epoxy run and sag, and flaw in the surface. There is a lot of sanding to be done...
I am not looking forward to this part of the project.
2 comments:
Hi Bob. I understand your pain as sanding and coating can take up many hours. I guess you're not going to fair the hull with epoxy mixed with micro-balloons? This would have eliminated the taped edge. Never mind, get a few coats of the undercoat built up and after a sand it will be less noticeable.
Bruce, after reading a great deal of conflicting information on various forums, I decided against trying to fair the hull using any sort of compound. May be a mistake, but we'll see.
I am feeling better about things after two more sessions with various sanders and grits. It will be fine.
I still don't like the finish work.
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