Pearson Ariel Keel

Tim Mertinooke · Post by **Tim Mertinooke** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:53 pm

I sanded the area this morning and made a nice spoon in the thickened epoxy that I smeared on last night. I tried to make the chamfer consistent from the center to the outside perimeter. It's now ready for the laminate and epoxy.

Then I cut out the fiberglass pieces that would be laminated. I will laminate the largest piece first following by successively smaller pieces. Then it will be coated with thickened epoxy.

After prepping the area, I coated it with epoxy and placed the first saturated piece of laminate on. I then applied three more layers. I decided to do four layers at a time as I have not laminated with epoxy before and I don't want it to "cook" which would weaken it. The only problem I had, and it really wasn't a problem, was the layers were trying to slide (very, very slowly) down the vertical repair. I just kept rolling and spreading until it stayed in place on its own (10 minutes.)

In a couple hours I'll laminate four more layers.

Tim Mertinooke · Post by **Tim Mertinooke** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 5:07 pm

In total I applied 16 layers of fiberglass. The reason for the high number of layers is that I decided to use the 3oz. cloth I had on hand. Perhaps not the best choice of cloth and it was time consuming, but the repair integrity will be good. In fact, I am willing to bet that part of the hull is the strongest part of the hull. The area is pretty fair, but once the last few layers kick I'll smear on a thin thickened epoxy coat. This will be allowed to cure overnight, then I'll remove the amine blush, sand, fair with one last thin coat of epoxy, sand smooth, paint, then I'll be done!

16 layers of fiberglass reinforced epoxy.

Tim Mertinooke · Post by **Tim Mertinooke** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 5:13 pm

I coated the repair with a thin layer of thickened epoxy to make it fair. It required only a little. Tomorrow I'll sand, see how fair it is overall. If it needs one more thin coat it will get it, if not I'll be done. How long does one need to wait before they can paint it with bottom paint. A week? More? The bottom paint I'm using is the "cheap" stuff from West Marine.

Tim Mertinooke · Post by **Tim Mertinooke** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 10:13 am

I removed the amine blush this morning, sanded the area smooth and then put the last sheen of thickened epoxy to fair it perfectly smooth. Once it cures I'll rough the area up a little then slap on the red bottom paint. How long does one need to wait before the repair can be painted?

Post by **Tim** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 8:25 am

Be sure to clean the blush before attempting paint.

In terms of when to paint...when do you need to have it painted? Some paints can be a little funny on top of fresh epoxy (others are not), so if you can wait a little while before painting, it won't hurt.

I don't have a specific answer, unfortunately. If you need to paint it today, paint it today. If you can wait till next weekend or whatever, then wait. It's only bottom paint, so it's hardly as critical as, say, a premium topcoat might be.