Fiberglass Creases, Wrinkles, Bubbles, oh my!

[Cruiser]

I use the 45 because A) I had the cloth leftover B) once you start cutting you aren't wasting much

Having said that, the full 45 isn't "a must", you are just trying to get the weave orientation away from the 90 degree orientation to the hull .... once the strands stop going across the hull and bow to stern, the cloth will conform more easily.

Take what you have, figure your length and then get whatever "off angle" you can manage. Jim is correct that you can "massage" wet cloth, but be very careful doing so .... it is not an aggressive process, don't try too much movement with each adjustment. Just keep at it till you get it where it needs to be.



Brian

[themrbruceguy]

Thank you for all of the help so far on this thread! I took full advantage of yesterday's weather here in Kansas City (73F) to fiberglass the inside of the canoe before winter sets in. It feel so good to have both of those big layups behind me.

There are far fewer wrinkles to address on the inside compared to when I had glassed the outside. However, when using my carbide scraper tool (https://www.amazon.com/Bahco-Premium-Er ... %3D&sr=1-2) on the inside, the wide/flat blade tends to dig its corners into the fiberglass instead of the center of the blade taking care of the wrinkle. This is due to the concave shape of the inside of the hull compared to the convex shape of the outside.

Any tips on how to scrape out the wrinkles on the inside of the canoe without creating gouges on the far tips of the scraper blade? I was thinking of getting this smaller version of the scraper (https://www.amazon.com/Bahco-Premium-Er ... =hi&sr=1-1) to tackle the inside, but not sure if that's going to do the trick. Maybe that smaller scraper with the pear-shaped blade (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001P0PJK/ref=emc_b_5_t?th=1) would be best in order to avoid sharp corners from digging in?

Any help is appreciated!

[Cruiser]

I suggest you abandon the carbide on the inside, go with a set of steel french curve type scrapers. You will need to sharpen, but they will conform better to the inside contours.

Something like this https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/to ... em=05K2031 is just fine and not too pricey

Alternatively, you can modify a couple of old paint scrapers like this


I just filed and reshaped some paint scrapers I haven't used in years and they worked really well.

Brian

[Jim Dodd]

I've resorted to a lot of things, scraping the INSIDE of a hull !
Old butcher knives, ground down big grade 8 flat washers, and of course for small spots, a Swiss Army pocket knife, that is always in my pocket !

Point is look around or make something that works for you, and share it here !

Those scrapers Brian shows, look great !

Jim