Boat Building Forum

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

Re: Kayak epoxy and bubbles
By:Ken Sutherland
Date: 9/23/2001, 2:56 pm
In Response To: Kayak epoxy and bubbles (David S.)

David,

Sounds like what you are experiencing is called out gassing, which is caused by the temperature rising before the epoxy cures. It sounds like a common problem in the building process, but one that is easily solved.
Try warming the work area prior to applying epoxy and allowing the work area to cool as you apply the epoxy and let it cure. This way the air in the wood will be cooling and contracting as the epoxy cures.
If heating the work area is impossible you cold do the epoxy work in the evening and as the temps drop the same result will be accomplished.

Good luck.

Ken

: I am returning to work on my kayak I began 3 years ago. I tried to glass the
: outside of the deck but I kept getting bubbles growing under the glass.
: They seem to come from some of the strip seams and a few staple holes, but
: many just seem to appear in the strip itself. I removed the fiberglass and
: tried a thin sealer coat of epoxy and this too blew bubbles, but only on
: staple holes and strip seams. So I sanded the epoxy layer smooth and added
: another thin layer. This time instead of hundreds of bubbles I have 40 to
: 50. Here's another thing, it seems to do it almost exclusively on the
: redwood strips. The inside of the deck has already been glassed (out of
: order in Nick's book I know). Could it be that there is trapped air in the
: seams and as the day wears on it heats and expands? The temperature change
: has only been 4-5 degrees F. Or is it something else that I am missing? I
: am using west systems epoxy with the 206 hardener. Thank you in advance
: for any tips! David S.

Messages In This Thread

Kayak epoxy and bubbles
David S. -- 9/23/2001, 11:20 am
Re: Kayak epoxy and bubbles
Ken Sutherland -- 9/23/2001, 2:56 pm