> I am a couple of days away from fiberglassing my kayak. Never having done
> this before, I am a little aprehensive. I searched the archives and mainly
> found threads on how to fix fiberglassing srew-ups (didn't do a whole lot
> for my confidence). I was wonder if some of you could offer some tips,
> helpful hints, things to watch out for, etc. as regards to fiberglassing a
> kayak.

> Thanks, Ralph Wight

1> Wear plastic or vinyl gloves. Have plenty of extras around and change them if they get full of resin. Otherwise you'll get your tools all sticky. If you are using solvents to clean up your tools, wear the gloves while you do this. 2> Wear old clothes. After they get dirty, wash them separately, and then run your washing machine on an entire cycle, with just water and a few drops of detergent before you put any other loads in. This is to flush out any small shreds of glass fibers that might have gotten picked up on your work clothes. You don't want them to stay in the machine and possibly get redopsited in the next load. The worst thing you could do is to wash your work clothes, and then put in a load of underwear. The result could be VERY unpleasant. Alternately go for disposable (tyvek) overalls. You can use them a few times before discarding them. 3> Have your tools handy, and maybe have a friend who can act as a 'go fer' to get the stuff you need. They can also change the CDs while you are glassing. 4> Get a respirator, and wear it while you sand. At the very least use a disposable dust mask. 5> Resin is expensive, and there is a natural tendency to want to economize. Fight this urge. If you have some excess, dump it. Don't try to re use resin you've scraped off with the squeegee. Don't try to rush to get resin on after it gets hot and starts to set up. Small batches are the way to go, wven if it seem like the roller and brushes are absorbing most of your material. Just accept it as part of the price you have to pay. The alternative is much more sanding. 6> protect the work area with a disposable drop cloth or several layers of newspaper. Resin drips ae a mess to clean up. Best not to let them land on your floors. 7> Wear a hat so you don't have the urge to push your hair out of your eyes. Otherwise you'll find your hair full of resin.

Hope this helps. Paul Jacobson