Sanding, is there a better way?

[1970kayhydro]

Iv'e been using a palm sander and its working but not very quick and im using a ton of sand paper. Im using 60 grit and still it seems to take a long time to get it done. Im tring to do all the spots i can with out removing all the hardware till boating season is over just incase i want to go play in it one or two more times. This is as far as iv'e gotten up to now.

What needs to be done with this?

 

[redfury]

Re: Sanding, is there a better way?

The second picture shows bad laminating from the factory when the boat was made ( interesting boat BTW ). There is NO gel coat, and the fiberglass looks to be undersaturated with resin. Definitely a weak spot.

Proper way to fix it would be to grind it out and repair it properly.

The quicker fix would be to get some body filler with fiberglass and grind out the bad stuff and fill it up, sand, prime and paint.

All depends on what you plan to do with the boat long term.

 

[1970kayhydro]

Re: Sanding, is there a better way?

Most likely im taking the deck off and reglassing the inner hull. That spot is right where the passenger sits on the very top and is about one foot of small spots like that there only about a 1/4" wide. Is that original light blue paint gel coat, the boat was made in 1970? In the long run I want to put a nice paint job on it, build a bench type seat for it, move the guages above the steering wheel and put a windshield on it. Also maybe trim the lower part of the passengers side dash so it would be easer to get in and out of.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Sanding, is there a better way?

You could use a DA sander, it will take a little more off quicker.

Filler primer for the second issue.

 

[oops!]

Re: Sanding, is there a better way?

RE....SANDING......IS THER A BETTER WAY?

YEAH......HIRE SOMEONE ELSE !

sorry if i seem a bit bitter with that......but i just spent 4 months sanding my whole hull 65 freekin bazillion times..

ok......yup the blue stuff is gellcoat..(thats why the crazing on the ubnder side of the hull..the repair can be done with a polyester body filler or gellcoat.....if you use gellcoat....use a product called patch aid from composits one.....


red furys way will also be just fine.

what kind of sander are you using?....a small palm orbitial?

try to find some resin backed paper...not the wood stuff.....there is also a big orbital sander you might want to get from harbour freight....it is a varyable speed from 150 to 6000 rpm....its a sander buffer....and will take a 7 inch pad with hook and loop. about 70 bucks....mine is a big makita that is worth 250....but i needed it bad....

you can also get a spongy pad that will not give you a "hard edge" on the outside of the paper........

paitence is the key.......and prep is everything in a good paint job...

good luck....and i know your pain

cheers
oops

 

[1970kayhydro]

Re: Sanding, is there a better way?

Im going to tractor supply to check for trailer tires maybe they will have one there. Should I stick with the 60 grit, its not leaving too many scratches.

 

[oops!]

Re: Sanding, is there a better way?

even though 60 a pain...and seems slow compaired to 24 grit....you dont want to go thru the gellcoat.....so 60 is good.......

i hate to tell you this.....but you will be using progressively higher grits and sanding the boat lots.......all the way up to 320 grit to paint....

the finishing sanding will go a lot faster as your polishing more than ripping

 

[1970kayhydro]

Re: Sanding, is there a better way?

Im getting through to fiberglass in a few spots just getting the darker blue and yellow primer off, is that bad? There are also a bunch of hair line cracks in the light blue, mostly in the front of the boat. Will these fill in if i use the right primer and paint? the first pic is hard to see and the second is with my phone about 3" away.

 

[1970kayhydro]

Re: Sanding, is there a better way?

I missed the first post OOPs, yeah its a 5 1/2 / 4 1/2 palm sander! So the cracks are the crazing you mentioned. there mostly all the front top side so far. Im not tring to sand them out just get the other pain and primer off, hey i got all winter.

 

[oops!]

Re: Sanding, is there a better way?

your really goin down far.....you might want to switch to 80 grit.....

as far as paint.....i think you only have one choice now......emmeron......just about as tough as gellcoat......must be sprayed......but beauteful......the one drawback is....that scratches and chips in it cannot be repaired.....but on the other hand.....it is allmost as tough as gellcoat.....

when you do the spots that are crazed.....take the edge of the sander and follow each crack line....get them all out....its a real pain....but if you dont....the will just re appear in your new paint job......

you just fill the craze lines with poly filler and sand smooth

 

[1970kayhydro]

Re: Sanding, is there a better way?

Well thats bad news about the crazing! The gel coat is eather real thin or was sanded too much last time. The spots where it went to the glass it was there when the yellow primer came off. Its basically in the same spots on both sides of the deck. Should I just paint, FOR SALE on it or maybe FREE? Just joking, some what!

 

[i386]

Re: Sanding, is there a better way?

I have crazing in mine too. Interlux Epoxy Primecote is suppose to be able to fill those in. That's what I'm doing anyway. Yes I'm doing a lot of sanding, but just enough to give the primer something to grab onto.

 

[1970kayhydro]

Re: Sanding, is there a better way?

Thats what i wanted to hear! i still want to reglass the inner hull and replace the wood subframe.

 

[i386]

Re: Sanding, is there a better way?

Thats what i wanted to hear! i still want to reglass the inner hull and replace the wood subframe.

I would do that first.