Thanks for the info. I will buy some microballoons for the West Systems. Should work well. Daniel On May 8, 2011, at 12:54 PM, robbin roddewig wrote:
Hi Daniel, I mentioned thickening with silica because I assumed you are working with a vertical or worse surface where if you have a deep area to fill you will want the epoxy to stay after putting it there. About peanut butter consistency. The silica is just to thicken, it makes structural bonds maybe a small amount weaker but if you are filling it is not a structural purpose. at least not enough that I would expect thickening to be an issue. I might be tempted to clean the repair area with some alcohol, mask off the damage and put some of the epoxy in leaving it a bit lower than the surface. Peel back the tape after the expoxy starts to kick and let it cure. Then with a gel coat repair kit try to color match the top surface with gel coat. My experience with gel coat is to leave it proud (above the surface and then sand and polish it with different grades of sand paper. That tends to make it blend a bit with the surrounding gel coat, although I personally could never get a perfect match it will not stand out and your will know it is very well repaired. Good luck!
Robbin
On 5/7/2011 11:43 PM, Daniel Rich wrote:
I have unopened west systems stuff and colloidal silica ready for my rebedding project. But I didn't think the colloidal silica was the stuff for thickening for this purpose. They seem to indicate using microballoons, or other products they have. So, the colloidal silica will work here? Do I have to wet out first, or just make a batch of epoxy, then thicken, then just apply it and fair it out?
Daniel On May 7, 2011, at 11:42 AM, robbin roddewig wrote:
Hi Daniel, sorry about the damage. Two part epoxy like West Systems or System Three would do. Although you will use little of it and you would need to thicken it with Collodial Silica (sp?) which West System also offers as part of the epoxy repair kit. Probably no reason not to do the fairing compound, just make sure that it is suitable for below the water line, most should be. As suggested the easiest way to match the gel coat or get close will be a gel coat repair kit. As suggested leave it proud (bulge or over filled) then sand down the gel coat to get it smooth. You just want to mask off the surrounding area as much as possible. I did a larger gel coat repair which is summarized at http://www.msogphotosite.com/RRBlister.html that may or may not help.
Robbin
On 5/6/2011 2:04 PM, Daniel Rich wrote:
Montypals:
On my maiden voyage last month I didn't get the boat onto the trailer correctly, so on the ride home she bounced around and gouged up the bow a bit on a bolt on the trailer. So, I have an area about an inch long with the gelcoat gone, into the glass. Not through the glass. What is the best way to repair this? It is below the red stripe. I figure I need to sand it, wet it with epoxy, then fair it with more epoxy, dry, and paint? I've never done anything like that. Or, can I epoxy, and put some kind of gelcoat on the spot? Thoughts from the experts?
Daniel M15 208 Kestrel _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
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