I have been doing some maintenance on my Ranger. Last year's paddling left some nasty scratches in the hull. I followed Ted's book on doing the repair to the sheathing (Page 183, a gouge into the resin, down to the glass, but not into the wood).
I sanded and feathered as the book says and used a piece of 4 oz cloth (rather than the 6 oz used in construction) to fill the wound. The prep job looked stellar. I wetted things out with resin and used the waxed paper trick as Ted described. This is a nifty trick and the patch turned out level with the hull.
The patched area was then prepared for varnish. The end result of all this was a nice smooth hull, but the damaged 6oz cloth still shows. My repair is acceptable but far from invisible (as picture shows).
Where did I go wrong?
Sheathing Repair less than desirable
- HighPlainsDrifter
- Posts: 77
- Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:30 pm
- Location: Brookings, SD USA
will never be invisible
unless you remove the bruised cloth. When the cloth gets bruised the fibers separate from the resin and re-wet out just never happens. If you sand off the bruised cloth you would be going down to the wood and can usually get a pretty clear patch. I use real course(50 grit) sand paper on a hard foam block to sand into the glass for a patch. It offers much more control over the removal than using a machine. Once you penetrate through to wood the difference in hardness between the soft cedar and hard epoxy/glass is huge. Care must be taken not to keep sanding off wood as you feather out the edges of the glass around the patch area.
I do that only if the glass is cut and could create a weakness in the hull. I use my canoes hard and expect scars and bruises, but I know other folks might desire that flawless look. My 28 year old hull was refinished and re-gunneled at 25 and it looks amazing above the waterline. Turn it over and you can see all the patches and scars, but it is sound as new.
I do that only if the glass is cut and could create a weakness in the hull. I use my canoes hard and expect scars and bruises, but I know other folks might desire that flawless look. My 28 year old hull was refinished and re-gunneled at 25 and it looks amazing above the waterline. Turn it over and you can see all the patches and scars, but it is sound as new.
- HighPlainsDrifter
- Posts: 77
- Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:30 pm
- Location: Brookings, SD USA
Re: Sheathing Repair less than desirable
Thank you for your thoughts on my repair job. Your interpretation confirms my thoughts. I also use my canoe and I do not expect her to stay "flawless". The deep raw gouge bothered me and I do feel better having the wound dressed (even if it still shows).