Hi,

I am building a stitch and glue sailing tender for my yacht and kids and
have got to the stage of having the outer seams all nicely taped up and
am ready to start the inside seams and adding the gunnels, center board,
thwarts etc.

I am looking for some tips on what to do about finishing the fibreglass
tape edges. There is quite a ridge there which I can sand or even plane
but even then there is quite a noticeable bump between the plywood and
the tape.

I want to paint the hull so wood finish is not an issue but ridges along
the seams are not the look I am after.

What is the trick to making it look as if the tape isn't there.

Thanks

Steve

On Sun, 05 Jun 2005 22:05:14 +1200, Steve wrote:

Hi,

I am building a stitch and glue sailing tender for my yacht and kids and
have got to the stage of having the outer seams all nicely taped up and
am ready to start the inside seams and adding the gunnels, center board,
thwarts etc.

I am looking for some tips on what to do about finishing the fibreglass
tape edges. There is quite a ridge there which I can sand or even plane
but even then there is quite a noticeable bump between the plywood and
the tape.

I want to paint the hull so wood finish is not an issue but ridges along
the seams are not the look I am after.

What is the trick to making it look as if the tape isn't there.

Thanks

Steve

Use thin tape, and accept the ridge.

Brian Whatcott

Your job of smoothing the edges would be made easier by using some fairing
compound. It is like marine bondo ( autobody filler) in its function.
You can make the fairing compound yourself with a mixture of resin,
microballons and cabo-sil. Or you can buy it premixed. Maybe that would be a
good idea? Look on the various online stores that sell FRP boatbuilding
supplies and get some. It should be available with polyester resin or epoxy
resin. To sand it smooth, get some 2x2 lumber and make a few sanding blocks
about 10-12" long, glue or staple some 36 grit paper for roughing it out
then some with 80 grit. Then apply some elbow grease.

--
Ron White
Boat building web address is
www.concentric.net/~knotreel

Steve,

Trying to just sand the edges usually results in a 2nd best smoothness. I
like to use a scraper to taper the edge towards the hull a bit, then fill
the edge with epoxy thickened with microballoons (or microspheres or the new
System III QuickFair). If the edge is more rough than not, or has whiskers
of glass bunched up or laying over it, I'll sometimes give the edge a quick
pass with a SurForm too, e.g. with the one that has a short curved blade.
The scraper that I use is a Sandvik ('Bahco') carbide scraper with a handle
on it (do a search at Amazon.com or similar). The copy-cat versions that
Home Depot sells work fine too. Some like to use cabinets scrapers, but I
find that they are a lot of work. After scraping, I give the glass and edge
a light sanding with 100-grit on a small random orbital palm sander. As far
as fairing goes, the microballoons (or similar) work pretty well. If you
find that you have tiny ridges or grooves that still stand out, you can use
one of the plastic fillers, like WEST 410 (I think that's the number) or
System III plastic minifibers in epoxy to fair them out. My personal
policy, since plastic is soft, is that if the defect that I'm fairing is
thinner than a layer of paint or close to it, then it's OK since the paint
is softer than the epoxy w/plastic in it. I don't believe in deeper plastic
fills. Finally, I only go through this on the outside of a boat (or cabin
etc), and I only put a real super finish in the region from the waterline to
the sheer. Saves labor. Under the waterline, smooth is smooth enough.
Inside the boat, I just run the scraper down the glass edges, give it a
quick sanding, then coat with epoxy and call it good (paint withstanding).

Have fun,

Brian




"Steve" wrote in message ...
Hi,

I am building a stitch and glue sailing tender for my yacht and kids and
have got to the stage of having the outer seams all nicely taped up and am
ready to start the inside seams and adding the gunnels, center board,
thwarts etc.

I am looking for some tips on what to do about finishing the fibreglass
tape edges. There is quite a ridge there which I can sand or even plane
but even then there is quite a noticeable bump between the plywood and the
tape.

I want to paint the hull so wood finish is not an issue but ridges along
the seams are not the look I am after.

What is the trick to making it look as if the tape isn't there.

Thanks

Steve

First, I taper the glass a bit using #80 on a RO sander, then follow with
microballoon putty. Fill & sand 'til done. Be VERY careful about sanding
at the corners. I minimize letting the edge of the sander disc extend past
the corner.
"Steve" wrote in message ...
Hi,

I am building a stitch and glue sailing tender for my yacht and kids and
have got to the stage of having the outer seams all nicely taped up and
am ready to start the inside seams and adding the gunnels, center board,
thwarts etc.

I am looking for some tips on what to do about finishing the fibreglass
tape edges. There is quite a ridge there which I can sand or even plane
but even then there is quite a noticeable bump between the plywood and
the tape.

I want to paint the hull so wood finish is not an issue but ridges along
the seams are not the look I am after.

What is the trick to making it look as if the tape isn't there.

Thanks

Steve

Steve,
The 'raised edges' of the 'tape' {actually a fiberglass cloth ribbon} are
called the 'selvage'. The best way to finish them smooth is to . . . remove
them !!

After the tape/resin has set-up {not too tacky, but soft - not beyond the
'green stage'} use a 'Carbide Circular Knife' {from OLFA {?}- looks like a
Pizza cutter}or a sharp utility knife, and trim off those edges. You can
also do it a little beyond the 'green' stage, but it's a bit tougher and I
would do it if there would be at least another 'fill coat' of epoxy.

Do it right and it will look like soft butter. A fairing coat will go on so
smooth you'll only need to 'scuff sand' to get paint adhesion.

"Steve" wrote in message ...
Hi,

I am building a stitch and glue sailing tender for my yacht and kids and
have got to the stage of having the outer seams all nicely taped up and
am ready to start the inside seams and adding the gunnels, center board,
thwarts etc.

I am looking for some tips on what to do about finishing the fibreglass
tape edges.
SNIP

Interesting approach. I hadn't heard of that before, cutting the selvage
off with a rolling cutter that is. I wonder if you could, at this stage,
further smooth the edge by placing clear plastic over it and rolling with a
smooth hard metal roller? Might save on that pesky filling/sanding
stage(s).

Brian


"Ron Magen" wrote in message
...
Steve,
The 'raised edges' of the 'tape' {actually a fiberglass cloth ribbon} are
called the 'selvage'. The best way to finish them smooth is to . . .
remove
them !!

After the tape/resin has set-up {not too tacky, but soft - not beyond the
'green stage'} use a 'Carbide Circular Knife' {from OLFA {?}- looks like a
Pizza cutter}or a sharp utility knife, and trim off those edges. You can
also do it a little beyond the 'green' stage, but it's a bit tougher and I
would do it if there would be at least another 'fill coat' of epoxy.

Do it right and it will look like soft butter. A fairing coat will go on
so
smooth you'll only need to 'scuff sand' to get paint adhesion.

"Steve" wrote in message ...
Hi,

I am building a stitch and glue sailing tender for my yacht and kids and
have got to the stage of having the outer seams all nicely taped up and
am ready to start the inside seams and adding the gunnels, center board,
thwarts etc.

I am looking for some tips on what to do about finishing the fibreglass
tape edges.
SNIP

Another approach is useful if the epoxy is fully cured. In building the
VOLKSKAYAK, we level the tape edges considerably using a sharp blade from a
utility knife - the sort that has a /_____\ shape, as a mini-scraper.
Grasp the two edges between the thumbs and forefingers, and apply firm
downward pressure as you drag it along the raised edge with the blade sloped
slightly back towards you; that is, the cutting edge is furthest from you,
the top edge closest to you. It cuts the bump down very, very quickly, and
avoids the hellish business of sanding out cured epoxy. These blades can be
bought in packages of 5 to 10 in any hardware store.
We then run a skim of epoxy thickened with microballoons along the
edge - let it dry thoroughly (about 10-14 days), and do a final sanding
out. This technique can produce an 'invisible' seam, if you have the
patience to be very neat and tidy with your work.

"Ron Magen" wrote in message
...
Steve,
The 'raised edges' of the 'tape' {actually a fiberglass cloth ribbon} are
called the 'selvage'. The best way to finish them smooth is to . . .
remove
them !!

Thanks for all the help and ideas. Isn't the web wonderful!

Steve