Order of next steps (sand outside or glass inside?)

[Patricks Dad]

Patrick and I glassed the outside of our redbird last weekend. We had been planning on waiting a week or 2 and then start the sanding process on the outside of the hull and then flip it over and sand and glass the inside.

It occured to me today that if we flipped it before sanding the outside there may be some advantages:

1. We could get done with sanding the inside and start the glass process on the inside sooner (shortening the interval between getting glass on the outside til we have glass on the inside). Thus completely sealing the hull sooner.

2. Any spills while doing the epoxy work on the inside would only add to the outside rather than mess up a nice sanding job on the outside.

3. any scratch/scuff marks (on the outside) from the inside sanding process would be subsequently sanded off when the outside is sanded.

4. Epoxy sanding of inside and outside could be done at once (1 clean up of the epoxy dust before varnishing.

The downside of this approach would be that we would have to flip it back over to sand the outside once the inside is glassed but that doesn't seem like too big a deal.

Any thoughts from the experts?

[Erich]

Patrick's Dad
My usual way is to leave the outside of the hull to last. I usually finish the first sanding with 100 grit. After the first sanding the gunnels are glued on. This is sloppy work on it's own. This way any scratches runs or small accidents can be finished later. The last two coats are rolled on and finished with 220 or 320, ready for final varnish.
Regards, Erich.

[Glen Smith]

On my first boat, after applying the epoxy to the outer hull, I waited 24 hours and flipped it without sanding. However, that may have been a bit too soon because the carpet slings left marks in the outside epoxy. These marks did dissappear when sanding the outer hull, though.

Now I wait 48 hours and don't have this problem. Sanding the outer epoxy after doing the interior will take care of any drips that get on the outside.

Doing the both with a short interval will help prevent most hull distortion problems. Use spreader sticks to maintain hull width.

You can make some padded supports to hold the hull in the inverted positin for sanding the outer hull epoxy.

[Juneaudave]

I like sanding the outside with it on the molds. More stability and (on the first canoe) it gives you the opportunity to get use to sanding epoxy and following the Canoecraft sanding instructions. Maybe you could use the down time to work on seats or build paddles or carve a thwart or machine your gunwales or ????...Juneaudave

[Patricks Dad]

Dave, I was thinking the same thing (use the support of the forms to make sanding the outside easier). But it occured to me that putting a few of the stations back on the strongback wouldn't be very hard and I could have that stability for sanding the hull later while getting the other advantages. With the humidity going up in Chicago as it warms up, I'm concerned about getting the inside sealed soon.

Thanks for all the advice.

[Juneaudave]

Sounds like a plan! Go for it!! If you haven't done so yet, think about getting a ProPrep scraper with the curved and flat blades. That will really help speed you through fairing the inside so you can get at that fiberglassing....Juneaudave

[Patricks Dad]

ProPrep scraper - I've heard lots of good things about it. I'm going to have to look for it.

Thanks!

[Glen Smith]

If you can't find it locally, you can order it from: http://www.newfound.com/tools.htm