I'm going to glass my Freedom Solo tomorrow morning. No kids here so it will be a solo job. Below is a link to a few pictures of the build so far (3 months)...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2 ... d0ba2b0a14
Glassing tomorrow morning. Wish me luck!
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Patricks Dad
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Juneaudave
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Patricks Dad
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Glassing interior...
Me too... Today is supposed to hit 60 and I don't think there will be many more before spring so today it is for my Nomad interior...
Here we go....
Here we go....
Joe "Woodchuck" Gledhill
Garden City, MI
Garden City, MI
Sad Day...
Congrats, Randy...
My day was a disaster... I was 60 F which is the min. temp for working with West System but the epoxy did not flow the same coming out of the pumps or spreading on the glass. I basically worked my tail off and never even got a chance to put on the second coat. I had bubbles ranging in size from less than a dime to over a silver dollar. The inside looks like a light brown dress with grey polka dots. It made me sick.
Before I got the first coat on, I could see the out gassing and the bubbles and I worked on them for hours but when I finally decided I would sand prior to the second coat, I quit. My back was sore as I was solo and I reached a point where I cried "Charlie".
This morning, all of the glass had cured so I guess the mixing went well but even more bubbles over night. I trimmed the edges on the shear line so I could get a good look and it did not get any better.
All those who know how to repair these problems, chime in, as I have a lot of work to do.
Not a happy camper...
CYA, Joe
My day was a disaster... I was 60 F which is the min. temp for working with West System but the epoxy did not flow the same coming out of the pumps or spreading on the glass. I basically worked my tail off and never even got a chance to put on the second coat. I had bubbles ranging in size from less than a dime to over a silver dollar. The inside looks like a light brown dress with grey polka dots. It made me sick.
Before I got the first coat on, I could see the out gassing and the bubbles and I worked on them for hours but when I finally decided I would sand prior to the second coat, I quit. My back was sore as I was solo and I reached a point where I cried "Charlie".
This morning, all of the glass had cured so I guess the mixing went well but even more bubbles over night. I trimmed the edges on the shear line so I could get a good look and it did not get any better.
All those who know how to repair these problems, chime in, as I have a lot of work to do.
Not a happy camper...
CYA, Joe
Joe "Woodchuck" Gledhill
Garden City, MI
Garden City, MI
Oh man...
I had some problems with bubbles doing the interior of my Wee Lassie II but it was nothing like your ordeal. I got bubbles all along the sheer--I basically had to redo the sheer as about six patches--and three bubbles in the main part of the boat.
I sanded them off. Just basically sanded on top of them until they turned white and I could pop them off with the point of a knife. I sanded the edges until the rim around the bubble was mostly gone, and I roughed up the fiberglass with 80 grit paper for about an inch and a half radius around the place were the bubble was. Then I cut a patch of fiberglass to cover the bubble plus the inch and a half and epoxied it down on top. It sounds like you may have to wait for spring for this stage, unless you have a work area you can warm with a space heater or something.
Also if it's a small bubble and doesn't stick up very far, people have been known to go get a syringe and a needle from a feed store and mix up some epoxy and inject it into the bubble. However I've only done that with green epoxy, (solid, but not a full chemical cure yet) and it may be that by the time your work space is warm enough, your epoxy won't be green anymore. Plus I wouldn't recommend it for big bubbles for obvious reasons.
If you have lots of pinhead sized bubbles but sanding them out would mean sanding the fiberglass off most of the inside of the boat, you might consider painting. I've seen professional boatbuilders varnish the outside but paint the inside, or vice versa, when they were unhappy with one or the other. Paint has the virtue of being quick and tough, and the contrast with the varnished side can be very effective, visually. If you don't want to paint, I understand but I thought I'd suggest it.
Also when I hit a point where I couldn't work on the inside of the boat for a while (back problems) I worked on the trim instead--glued spacers onto inwales, bookmatched the decks, made the through-holes--that kind of thing. That can help you finish her faster in the spring even if you have to wait to finish epoxying the inside.
I've always used the Raka epoxy so I can't tell you much about the West.
If it makes you feel any better, the places on my boat where I repaired bubbles are barely noticeable. I can find them because I know about where to look, but nobody else has.
I had some problems with bubbles doing the interior of my Wee Lassie II but it was nothing like your ordeal. I got bubbles all along the sheer--I basically had to redo the sheer as about six patches--and three bubbles in the main part of the boat.
I sanded them off. Just basically sanded on top of them until they turned white and I could pop them off with the point of a knife. I sanded the edges until the rim around the bubble was mostly gone, and I roughed up the fiberglass with 80 grit paper for about an inch and a half radius around the place were the bubble was. Then I cut a patch of fiberglass to cover the bubble plus the inch and a half and epoxied it down on top. It sounds like you may have to wait for spring for this stage, unless you have a work area you can warm with a space heater or something.
Also if it's a small bubble and doesn't stick up very far, people have been known to go get a syringe and a needle from a feed store and mix up some epoxy and inject it into the bubble. However I've only done that with green epoxy, (solid, but not a full chemical cure yet) and it may be that by the time your work space is warm enough, your epoxy won't be green anymore. Plus I wouldn't recommend it for big bubbles for obvious reasons.
If you have lots of pinhead sized bubbles but sanding them out would mean sanding the fiberglass off most of the inside of the boat, you might consider painting. I've seen professional boatbuilders varnish the outside but paint the inside, or vice versa, when they were unhappy with one or the other. Paint has the virtue of being quick and tough, and the contrast with the varnished side can be very effective, visually. If you don't want to paint, I understand but I thought I'd suggest it.
Also when I hit a point where I couldn't work on the inside of the boat for a while (back problems) I worked on the trim instead--glued spacers onto inwales, bookmatched the decks, made the through-holes--that kind of thing. That can help you finish her faster in the spring even if you have to wait to finish epoxying the inside.
I've always used the Raka epoxy so I can't tell you much about the West.
If it makes you feel any better, the places on my boat where I repaired bubbles are barely noticeable. I can find them because I know about where to look, but nobody else has.
Another masterpiece