Boat Building Forum

Find advice on all aspects of building your own kayak, canoe or any lightweight boats

Re: Epoxy/temperature questions
By:Kris Gabrielson
Date: 8/18/1999, 11:29 pm
In Response To: Epoxy/temperature questions (Nancy)

> I am a bit confused by all that I read about putting on additional coats
> of epoxy. I am building a Pygmy GE13. The instructions tell you to
> complete all 3 coats within 72 hours. Then it also says to never wait more
> than 72 hours between coats of epoxy. Which is it?

> I put my first coat on Sunday evening, a second Monday, a third plus
> taping the keel on Tuesday. Then, as luck would have it, the temp dipped
> into the 40's last night and barely topped 60 today (plus lots of
> humidity.) I was all set to add another coat tonight, but the previous
> coat is still really tacky. I was using hardener 2 from System 3. I think
> I need additional coats because I can still see a lot of the weave of the
> glass.

> I'd appreciate any clarifications/suggestions. Nancy

Hi,

I'm no epoxy expert, that is for sure. I have done one epoxy job and that was on my Guillemot Coastal. I had the same sort of question when I was putting the coats of epoxy on my boat. I put three coats on mine and could still see the weave, or what I thought was the weave. After thinking about it for awhile I came to the conclusion that not only does the epoxy fill the valleys of the weave but also builds on the top. I went ahead and sanded the entire boat, got it smooth, and didn't touch the glass except in a few spots. After putting a light coat on those spots, everything looked just fine. I would say that you have plenty of epoxy on there now. Go ahead and sand an area smooth and if you dont' touch the glass then you should be in good shape. Good luck!

Messages In This Thread

Epoxy/temperature questions
Nancy -- 8/18/1999, 7:17 pm
Re: Epoxy/temperature questions
Chris Bush -- 8/19/1999, 10:21 am
Re: Questions
Pete Roszyk -- 8/19/1999, 9:31 am
Re: Epoxy/temperature questions
Kris Gabrielson -- 8/18/1999, 11:29 pm
Re: Epoxy/temperature questions
Greg -- 8/19/1999, 6:45 am
Re: Epoxy/temperature questions
lee -- 8/19/1999, 2:08 pm
Re: Epoxy/temperature questions
Kris Gabrielson -- 8/19/1999, 12:31 pm
Re: Epoxy Questions
Byron Lawrence -- 8/19/1999, 10:32 am