Frustrated with fairing

[Trayder]

My sander and I have become one today. I sit here typing while my hands are still shaking from a day of abuse.

I am a bit anoyed with the fairing compound I am using. It is a Polyester blend, because I am finishing the boat with polyester gel-coat, but it does not seem to be getting hard enough.

Does anyone know what that means?

Did I not add enough hardener or too much?

[Miles Offshore]

Traydor, The temperaurecombined with humidity might just mean a little longer dry time for you up north this time of year if you are using the reconnened mix of hardener. I would just give it a little extra time to dry if that does not work then Im afraid you will have to remove the old filer re-apply using a hotter mixture. Are you by chance using "West System"?

[FELLOW-SHIP]

HA TRAYDER
I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT BUT I CAN SYMPATHIZE WITH THE FAIRING AND SANDING PROCESS. I HAVE SPENT, SHOOT I CAN’T REMEMBER HOW MANY DAYS SANDING AND FAIRING. THIS WEEKEND I SPENT ANOTHER 14 HOURS OF SANDING AND THAT’S JUST THE INSIDE. I HAVE BEEN USING THE WEST SYSTEM AND THE FAIRING MATERIAL HAS BEEN EITHER THEIR #406, #407, OR #410 DEPENDING ON WHAT I AM DOING. I HAVEN’T HAD ANY PROBLEM WITH IT HARDENING IN FACT I HAVE TO WATCH NOT TO MIX UP TO MUCH OR IT WILL CURE IN THE POT. I THINK I GOT 1 TO 2 DAYS LEFT ON THE INSIDE AND THEN PRIMER WHICH OF COURSE WILL NEED TO BE SANDED AND THEN PAINTING. MY HANDS ARE A WRECK A LOT OF MY SANDING THIS WEEKEND WAS IN PLACES THAT I COULDN’T GET A SANDER INTO. NEXT WEEKEND I SHOULD BE ABLE TO USE MY ORBITAL SANDER. BOY I NEVER THOUGHT USING A SANDER WOULD BE BETTER THAN WHAT I WAS DOING THE WEEK BEFORE. THE TIPS OF MY FINGERS ARE A WRECK.
GOOD LUCK YOUR FRIEND THAT KNOWS YOUR PAIN AND SUFFERING ALL UNDER THE HEADING OF FUN.
FELLOW-SHIP [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

[Scott]

Sorry to here the troubles with fairing!!!! Jason I know you hinted to me to Gel coat the boat and I've been thinking about it but I dont know now....think I'll keep on the painting path...I really hope you wont have to redo all that work .. yikes!!!!! What about a little heat in the garage ...I'm sure you've already gone that route.....just remember ITS GOING TO LOOK AWESOME WHEN ITS DONE!!!! [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Miles... why do you ask that about the WEST SYSTEM... you've got me intrigued??

While working on mine I have always picked an area and gone nuts with it....epoxy work then fairing it out ...I was too scared that if I did all the epoxy work first then had to sand the whole boat I would lose it...
Fellow-Ship I hear you about sanding the inside of these boats ... some places are alittle difficult....well that an understatement...Your sanding out the whole deck aren't you???...There are still a couple of places that I have repaired but havent figured out how to Fair yet...spots like in the channels for hatches and the deck...yuk!!!

[Trayder]

Hello Guys-

Spoke with the guys at the fiberglass shop and they told me I was not putting it on thick enough? Who knows. The stuff I am using is called Fair So light, it is made by LBI fiberglass, a glass shop in Groton CT. They told me not to worry about it not getting hard enough be cause it will, but not quickly when applied too thin. As I did. So. What I now have to do is put the stuff on 4x thicker than I need and the sand it down. Fellow-Ship, I have a feeling my fingers will soon be feeling your pain.

Miles- I figured it was the temp/humidity as well but my project is inside a "heated" garage. I had the room up to a 75 degree constant yesterday. But I figured the humidity was the culprit.

Scott- you just wait till I perfect the Re-Gel Coating process [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] . Granted you may have already finished your boat and have been using it for 5 years by the time I do actually perfect it. Hehe [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[John R]

Trayder, I know from building fishing rods that excessive humidity will seriously degrade the performance of hardeners. While I don't know how or if that will impact your fairing, with rods, if it is too humid, the epoxy may never cure.

I mixed an epoxy once for building a rod, wrapped the guides and they never truly cured as I mixed and applied them over a humid weekend. The rod is still tacky to touch over a year later. I didn't know it then but one of the golden rules in rod building epoxies is to never mix & apply in humid conditions. Whether or not this translates into your issue I have no idea.

Another thought to consider, again - I'm near clueless on this issue - if you apply 4x the fairing compound so it hardens, will it be hard all the way through? Or will you sand through a hard shell only to find a not cured layer underneath??

Just a couple thoughts....