fiberglass restoration
 

I'm restoring a wreck of a boat, my first project. It is a 21' Romany
Fisherman from Engand, circa 1960's, powered by a 4-107 Perkins
diesel. The boat has a certain Tonka toy look to it, like a caricature
of a larger tug-like boat. Anyway, I have lots of questions but I will
pose only a few at a time.The gelcoat on the bottom was like dried
mud- all cracked and pitted so I ground it all off up to the top of
the boot stripe. I then epoxyed a layer of cloth with 4-5 coats of
epoxy, sanding and fairing, between each coat. Then 4-5 coats of
sprayed Interlux 2000e, sanding and fairing between coats. I'm waited
till later to bottom paint it. The upper hull was painted over the gel
coat, this I sanded off.
1- Should I grind out every crack, starbust inpact fracture and flaw
in the gelcoat on the hull, Then repair with epoxy putty? Sand,then
spray with epoxy primer before I paint?
2-Can I sand the decks, wheelhouse etc. Epoxy prime, sand, and then
paint? There are a million small fracture cracks everywhere, will the
epoxy primer repair these?

Mike

On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 10:52:38 -0800, Michael G Adams wrote:

[snip]

1- Should I grind out every crack, starbust inpact fracture and flaw
in the gelcoat on the hull, Then repair with epoxy putty? Sand,then
spray with epoxy primer before I paint?

I don't think so. Only if the material around the cracks is loose would I
grind it out. But I am definitely not an expert.

One thing to watch for is places where the hull has been stressed. For
example, if you see a ridge of cracks along a bulkhead, it could be a sign
of broken down fiberglass underneath. I'm not sure what you can do about
that, but it could indicate a serious problem.

2-Can I sand the decks, wheelhouse etc. Epoxy prime, sand, and then
paint? There are a million small fracture cracks everywhere, will the
epoxy primer repair these?



The small fracture cracks are not a big deal. If you sand the gelcoat and
paint over it the tiny cracks should disappear.

Mike

--Mac

Mac wrote:

On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 10:52:38 -0800, Michael G Adams wrote:

[snip]

1- Should I grind out every crack, starbust inpact fracture and flaw
in the gelcoat on the hull, Then repair with epoxy putty? Sand,then
spray with epoxy primer before I paint?

I don't think so. Only if the material around the cracks is loose would I
grind it out. But I am definitely not an expert.

One thing to watch for is places where the hull has been stressed. For
example, if you see a ridge of cracks along a bulkhead, it could be a sign
of broken down fiberglass underneath. I'm not sure what you can do about
that, but it could indicate a serious problem.

2-Can I sand the decks, wheelhouse etc. Epoxy prime, sand, and then
paint? There are a million small fracture cracks everywhere, will the
epoxy primer repair these?


-----------------

If you paint over the small hairline cracks the paint or epoxy will just
bridge over them and they will reappear when the air or moisture in them
expands with temp.

you must 'seal' them with something like Capt Tolley's (available in all the
marine catalogs or online) or some other very low viscosity primer or sealer.


regards
paul oman
progressive epoxy polymers
www.epoxyproducts.com

On Sun, 28 Nov 2004 02:53:15 +0000, Paul Oman wrote:

Mac wrote:

On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 10:52:38 -0800, Michael G Adams wrote:

[snip]


[snip]

2-Can I sand the decks, wheelhouse etc. Epoxy prime, sand, and
then paint? There are a million small fracture cracks everywhere,
will the epoxy primer repair these?


-----------------

If you paint over the small hairline cracks the paint or epoxy will just
bridge over them and they will reappear when the air or moisture in them
expands with temp.

you must 'seal' them with something like Capt Tolley's (available in all
the marine catalogs or online) or some other very low viscosity primer
or sealer.


regards
paul oman
progressive epoxy polymers
www.epoxyproducts.com

I defer to your apparently greater experience on this.

;-)

--Mac

Suggested Reading: "The Fiberglass Boat Repair Manual" by Allan H. Vaitses
Published by Mcgraw - Hill $29.95 US

It's a real "down to earth" book about repairing fiberglass boats that was
written by a guy who actually works in fiberglass boat repair. I'm now
nearing completion of some extensive fiberglass repairs to my boat and this
book was like a bible. I don't think I could have survived without it.

Charley


"Michael G Adams" wrote in message
om...
I'm restoring a wreck of a boat, my first project. It is a 21' Romany
Fisherman from Engand, circa 1960's, powered by a 4-107 Perkins
diesel. The boat has a certain Tonka toy look to it, like a caricature
of a larger tug-like boat. Anyway, I have lots of questions but I will
pose only a few at a time.The gelcoat on the bottom was like dried
mud- all cracked and pitted so I ground it all off up to the top of
the boot stripe. I then epoxyed a layer of cloth with 4-5 coats of
epoxy, sanding and fairing, between each coat. Then 4-5 coats of
sprayed Interlux 2000e, sanding and fairing between coats. I'm waited
till later to bottom paint it. The upper hull was painted over the gel
coat, this I sanded off.
1- Should I grind out every crack, starbust inpact fracture and flaw
in the gelcoat on the hull, Then repair with epoxy putty? Sand,then
spray with epoxy primer before I paint?
2-Can I sand the decks, wheelhouse etc. Epoxy prime, sand, and then
paint? There are a million small fracture cracks everywhere, will the
epoxy primer repair these?

Mike