Sanding Question

Arctic · Post by **Arctic** » Sat Feb 02, 2008 8:03 pm

I am in the process of "cleaning up" my boat prior to the first major glassing. As you know I have had issues with the seams and now find a mess of hard epoxy droplets at places on the hull. I plan to scrape and sand these away.
- in the case of sanding what grit would you reccomend?

I am using a 5" (8 hole) random orbital sander. I am thinking 100 should do it. I will also be using a dremel with sanding disk for the more fine bits. Would like your advice here.

Mark,
Cantley, Quebec.

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Sat Feb 02, 2008 8:37 pm

After scraping I usually do any necessary filling then I do an initial sanding with 80 grit then raise the grain and sand with 120.

Arctic · Post by **Arctic** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:02 am

Thanks Glen!

Mark

sluggo · Post by **sluggo** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 3:23 pm

FWIW, I'm 1/2 through sanding my hull. I used 60grit on the random orbital sander. I found this quickly faired the hull and knocked down glue and/or epoxy. On the more tricky spots (for example, where there are saw blade swirls at flatter portions of the hull) I didn't spend much time with the ROS but instead used a cabinet scraper. The 60grit is really fast. Be careful at strubborn areas because keeping the 60grit in one spot too long will probably remove wood that you didn't intend to remove.

The idea I'm embracing is that the 60grit is fairing/shaping the hull. Finer grits and cabinet scraper take care of the "finishing". IMO the 60grit is much better to use on the glue and epoxy than finer grits, it is way faster and the nature of the ROS prevents the pad from digging in (don't apply pressure or weight on the ROS). Again, if you're not able to keep the ROS flat or keep it moving then maybe it's better to try a finer grit.