The first two coats were catalyzed with West System 206 Slow Hardener.
Each coat was tipped off with a squeegee made from a 7" foam roller cover split
lengthwise. Instructions on how to make the tool are printed on the
West System roller cover packaging.
The epoxy was allowed to cure for three hours before recoating.
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The last coat was catalyzed with West System 207 Special Coating.
Normally used in clearcoat applications, it flows out better than
the 206 hardener since it's mixed at a 3:1 ratio instead of the usual
5:1 ratio for 205 and 206 hardeners.
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The 207 flowcoat should reduce the final sanding to a minimum.
Once fully cured, the hull will be sanded with 40 grit sandpaper to prepare
it for primer.
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On Friday night, the hull was washed with water and scuffed
with a Scotch pad to remove sanding sludge. On Saturday morning,
the hull was cleaned with DuPont Plas-Stick Plastic-Prep 2319S.
It's a ready-to-use unprimed plastic parts cleanner designed to remove
mold release agents and other surface contaminants and eliminate static.
Click here for a product usage guide.
The substrate was wiped with a 2K tack rag (made for plastics and urethane finishes)
before applying the primer. A medium wet coat of Polyval Polyur 559 Black Epoxy
Primer was applied with an HVLP spray gun. This industrial 2 component coating is rated
for immersion service (very rare for primers) and is available in red, gray, white, yellow and black.
We chose the black because it highlights surface imperfections better than the other colors.
(29-JUL-2006)
After curing for 4 hours, we blocked out the hull with 100 grit
sandpaper on a 24" flexible sanding board. The primer did a great job
of filling most of the 40 grit sanding marks left from the initial sanding.
Low spots (mainly along the chine at the fiberglass overlap) were filled with
System Three QuikFair epoxy filler. Other lighter-colored spots
are sanding break-throughs or high spots.
Two rounds of DuPont 4007S 2K Ultra Productive Primer-Filler were applied to the hull
and block-sanded with 100 and 180 grit sandpaper .
This was followed up with a coat of DuPont ChromaPremier Sealer
which was then sanded with 240 grit sandpaper.
(14-AUG-2006 - 17-AUG-2006)
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The shop was cleaned up, the painting tarps were hung on the walls and
furnace filters were slipped into the rear screen door.
The hull was washed with plain water, dried with Torx wipers, prepped with Plastic-Prep
and tacked with a 2K tack rag. A medium coat of DuPont ChromaBase Basecoat (white) was
applied and allowed to flash for 15 minutes.
If this was an ordinary boat, we'd clearcoat the white and we'd be done.
Since this is a Hot Rod, it's gotta look hot !!
(18-AUG-2006)
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We'd normally use DuPont Imron as our topcoat, but the pigment required to mix
the Corvette Yellow was no longer available. Switching to PPG solved the
problem. Three coats of PPG finish off the job. This is a single stage,
two-component acrylic urethane topcoat which should provide maximum scuff resistance.
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The hull was left to cure for 4 days after painting.
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A heavy-duty mobile dolly was fabricated for the hull. Four 10' lengths of 3"
C-Channel spaced 12 incches apart provide ample support.
Righting the hull was accomplished with minimal fuss.
Seven friends showed up for the roll. The hull is so light
they lifted it off the setup jig, rotated it and placed it onto the
dolly without even resting the sheer on the ground.
Many thanks to Jack, Dave, Big John, Brian and the Chelsea lads.
(23-AUG-2006)
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We fabricated adjustable bunks similar to the ones used in the trailer.
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The dolly is quite narrow. We can still access the sides and bottom
which wouldn't be the case if the boat was simply loaded on the boat trailer.
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The horizontal crossmember was cut to allow installation of the
rudder, strut and propeller shaft.
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