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I have been building the Cottage Cruiser the past few months and finally got it to the glassing stage last week. This was my first time glassing such a large area and I was working alone so I had to stop and mix resin on occasion during the wet out friday afternoon. It all went well I think and I'm mostly happy with the results, but I have some "lines" in the resin in what looks to be places I stopped to fill in an area and when I stopped to mix resin. I'm hoping they will be less visible once I get it out into daylight but if not, such is life. Overall it is quite pleasing to look at and we are happy with the results even though the weave of the glass is visible up close even with 4 fill coats on it.
I'm mostly curious as to how the lines came to be and how I may avoid them the next time I build.
The canoe did have a sealer coat that was well sanded after it cured and cleaned without solvents prior to glassing, just water and a dry wipe. I used West System and the appropriate cloth from a local supplier. I had heated the basement as warm as I could get it then shut the furnace off and let it cool as the wet out proceeded. I had all the windows open for ventilation but it didn't warm up down there at all. Wet out started at 1:30 pm and finished at 5pm. At no point did the resin get to the "gelling" point so it could not have been that. I haven't noticed the lines on the other side, although there is less light on that side so they may appear when we get it outside this weekend.
Ideas on what caused the lines? I'm not worried about getting them out as they won't affect the function of the boat.
This is very common when one person tries to do a large project by themselves. For whatever reason, new batches of resin do not mix with old that well as you move from side to side and have to go mix up our own batches. When I do a large canoe by myself, I mix up a lot at a time and get it on the boat as quick as possible and then clean up the mess afterward. I do not stop to smooth out or remove excess until all is coated. After a few years in the sun, it will likely fade and blend somewhat.
Next time though I would have at least two people to coat the boat, better with three. Two to apply (one per side) while third mixes up epoxy and cleans up runs.
My ranger looks the same. I glassed it by myself also. I assumed it was squeegee marks. It isn't visible unless you get the perfect angle and have the proper light. At this point it is one of those live with it or sand it completely off(ugg).
My Freedom 17 had the same lines after I 'glassed it. I also used West System epoxy, and it was my first time fiberglassing too. I was pretty slow and deliberate about it. Maybe that was the problem..?
Anyway, after a few years those "funky" lines have faded a bit. I thought you might like to hear that.
Rod, I'm about to glass the inside of my Rob Roy and I'm wondering if you do the "dump and squegee" method on the inside of your boats? Anybody ever use a roller for the initial wet out?
Dave
"If given six hours to chop down a tree, spend the first four sharpening your ax." - Abraham Lincoln
I'm not too worried about it, I will just know better for the next one. I am building this for my room mate and she doesn't mind them at all. Considering it took 83 strips and 55 of them are scarfed, a number of them quite obtrusive, a few lines in the resin just adds further character.
The grain and colours sure make up for the little oopsies though. I can spend hours just checking out the patterns and how the darker strips change shade depending on how the light hits them.
I don't like rollers for first coats as they introduce more air into the mix. The inside is usually easier to do than the outside since you are able to pour resin into the boat, pull it up the sides and move faster in larger puddles. I will mix up about 10 oz at a time and work quickly. Let it soak will in before you come back and squeegie off. Once the resin is in a thin film in the boat it will take much longer to gel unless you are working in 90 degree temps. I always found that West system is more likely to leave these lines. I have used almost all brands of epoxy over the years and in days of old when 207 hardener was much more amber in colour this was more of a problem. It is now much clearer in colour and closer to other brands that are basically clear in colour.
The following picture was taken Nov/09 a day or so after applying the West system epoxy. If you look closely you will see the 'lines' or marks at the points were each section of epoxy was overlapped. They run from keel to gunwale. I am wondering if these are the 'lines' in the epoxy that Karin is discussing in these forum threads. There were two of us working as fast as possible in temperatures of about 13-15 degrees C with moderate humidity.
As other comments have said these marks are only visible from a certain angle and with a certain light and are almost invisible in full sunlight. Nevertheless, they were a disappointing development and not explained by West or Bearmountain. Is there a way to prevent these overlap marks without getting 14 guys to help apply the epoxy? If it is only West that develops this problem then why are we using it?
Any comments are much appreciated. Incidentally, in every other way, including the plans and cedar wood kit this Prospector was a pleasure to build.
It isn't West epoxy only that does that. I was suggesting in a previous post that because of the amber colour of the old 207 hardener, it was more likely. Other epoxies that take much longer to cure such as System 3 Silvertip with slow hardener are less likely to show these lines but you still have to work methodically. To compare, 207 at room temp will be hard to the touch in about 4-5 hours whereas System 3 will take around 8 and can be recoated up to 24 hours later. West 207 would require sanding at that point. West is a proven brand of epoxy.
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