chasing cracks

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tptbum
Posts: 29
Joined: Sat Jun 09, 2007 9:17 am
Location: Ann Arbor, MI area

chasing cracks

Post by tptbum »

Hi Everyone -

I am in the sanding and filling stage.

It seems like when I try to fill the cracks I can't help but get some schmutz on the hull, by the time I have sanded out the dark stains - more cracks have formed! I am a little afraid that if I chase these cracks forever I will sand a hole right through the strips!

I have tried several different types of crack filler - most recent is West System 410 thickener.

Thinking about just glassing it as is and painting it!
Any advice?
Rod Tait

Re: chasing cracks

Post by Rod Tait »

Have you considered masking off the area before you spread thickened epoxy?
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Jeff in Farmington, MI
Posts: 118
Joined: Wed Jul 07, 2004 3:19 pm
Location: Farmington, Michigan, USA

Re: chasing cracks

Post by Jeff in Farmington, MI »

Masking the area can certainly help. You can also wipe the excess from the area with whatever solvent is appropriate for your filler. However, at some point you just need to call it good. I suspect that you are at that point.
I encountered the same thing on my first boat. I would fill and sand, fill and sand, only to find that the sanding had opened up more cracks. You have to realize that the cracks are really gaps in areas where the strips were not held tight enough. More cracks will appear as you sand deeper, exposing more of the gaps.
Sanding deeper will not likely improve the situation, so I would recommend that you fill only the larger cracks and leave the smaller ones to be filled with the epoxy when you glass. Of course there is always the risk of air bubbles from the cracks being trapped under the glass, but this is where good glassing technique comes in.
Every boat and every builder experiences this, so just glass that pretty boat and enjoy!

- Jeff
tptbum
Posts: 29
Joined: Sat Jun 09, 2007 9:17 am
Location: Ann Arbor, MI area

Re: chasing cracks

Post by tptbum »

Thanks for the advice -

Jeff I suspect you are about right, it doesn't seem to be getting better - that might be a pretty good definition of "done."

john
Chipper1959
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 3:21 pm
Location: Cowansville Qc Canada

Re: chasing cracks

Post by Chipper1959 »

I found that the epoxy was too hard to sand off without sanding into the surrounding wood. I tried different fillers and ended up using this stuff....It comes in a bunch of different colors but I blended a couple of them together to get it just right. It sands just like cedar.
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