Boat Building Forum

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

Epoxy: Scratches
By:Malcolm Schweizer
Date: 1/25/2010, 9:17 am

Hello all,

Now that the surfboard is done I can go back to the kayak restoration. You might remember the hull didn't wet out too good. I sanded down to the weave to see if I could get it to look any better. Didn't work. I also scratched it while taking it off the porch and the scratches are pure white when wet out, but I think sanding will help, and I think maybe some white paint embedded itself in the fibers and my hope is that will sand out. Also I know that scratches do that until you feather them with sandpaper.

I really couldn't tell much difference between the sanded parts and the unsanded parts in my test strip, but I went ahead and sanded the hull carefully down to the weave in hopes maybe when wetted out then the weave might not show up so much. It does! Well, it's on the bottom so as long as I'm paddling or on the beach nobody will see it. Unfortunately on the car they will, and I am trying to show off my work because I want to start building wood surfboards down here. I did a test to see what it would take to sand the whole thing back down to the wood. NO WAY!!! I'm done with sanding. I'll glass the deck this week and have it in the water in time for Rob to tear it up somehow on the rocks. :-)

-Malcolm