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Here's one reason I was
so excited about the polyester resin . . . The plug on the left is
the cured polyester resin left in my cup, it is glass clear. The
haze on the surface is the wax, which would be sanded off. The design is
from the bottom of a 1 qt. plastic milk jug. The plug on the right
is from the opaque, tinted epoxy used to coat my
coaming. |
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Applying
polyester resin - I masked the hull at the sheer to keep drips on
the newspaper, instead of creeping around to the deck. This pic is
immediately after I spilled and spread the resin with a brush. It
used most of a 12oz mix and took about 30 min., mostly verifying I had wet
the entire hull surface. One sidebar - The entire house
now smells of the resin, I'll report how long it takes to dissipate . .
. Thank goodness we can build them out of epoxy . .
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Change of
Plans: I decided not to trust the polyester resin, or to
sand polyester resin ever again . . . That stuff eats sanding disks like
mad - I opted to use spar varnish for the final finish, right over the PR.
There are lots of reasons for my decision, suffice to say it didn't work
out as I had envisioned. Here is my first coat of varnish, applied
with a rag (the bottom of a white crew sock), it came out great.
After several more coats it will be leveled and buffed to a mirror
finish. I used some UV protected spar varnish I got on
closeout at Wal-Mart, for $6/gallon. It looks clearer (less amber)
than the overpriced stuff the other kayak builders seem to like
using. |
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Close-up, showing the
lack of surface dust in an absolutely uncontrolled environment. I am
shocked. The door is open, the garage has 1/4" of dust in the
corners, unswept for a few weeks, and no surface dust appeared while the
hull dried. I guess preparation is more important than a controlled
environment . . . ? |
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First coat of varnish on
the deck. I used Kent's latest discovery about using Scott blue shop
towels for a rag and it worked just great. No lint to speak of, and
a very smooth application. Amazing how well things work when we all
share information. |
