varnishing around scuppers

[boatman]

I am having a hard time sanding the small space between my scupppered inwales and the strips.in preparation for varnishing. I have managed to sand some of it but some areas are difficult to reach, especially in the ends of the scuppers. Question is this. How critical is it to get this area sanded before varnishing. You can hardly see it. My main concern is the varnish not adhering to the epoxy good. Anybody know how important this is? Thanks

[Glen Smith]

I took a narrow strip of 120 grit paper (about 1/2" X 4") rolled it up like a cigarette and ran it through the scupper slots to get at the corners. For the flat portion I used a small strip of paper on a stirring stick. As long as you get to most of it, it should be OK.

[The Gutt Clan]

For those hard to reach areas, try using spray adhesive to temporarily fix sandpaper to:

o Dowels to fix concave areas
o custom cut foam (don't use spray adhesive) for unique shapes or convex shapes
o tongue depressors or cheap plastic putty knives for flat areas

The custom cut foam is always a good idea for convex or strange shapes (e.g. moulding). To get the foam to fit properly, first get an appropriately sized chunk of closed cell foam. I use that blue or pink 'basement' foam found in DIY stores. Use spray adhesive to fix a piece of sandpaper to a scrap of whatever you want to sand (e.g. use a scrap piece of molding or gunnel) with the rough side out. Rub the foam block over the sandpaper until it is in the shape you need... Voila... custom shaped foam blocks for sanding strange shapes...

Oh, and don't use the spray adhesive on the foam. It will react and let of toxic gases... Well, the spray adhesives are pretty toxic by themselves, but the foam will melt and ruin your custom sanding block...