Guest Posted January 4, 2004 Posted January 4, 2004 Microlight is a plastic filler and is not recommended for use under dark colors. He sells glass beads in the place of Microlight, or did sell it, along with Microballons, which is like the 407 west system. Fumed silica is the same as the 406. Be very careful with the glass beads. It is so fine, and it will automatically go up your nose, if not masked properly. The lumps used to come because he packaged it in black bags. The beads come in a clear bag. Like I said, its been about three years since I bought from him in any bulk.. Quote
Greg Luckett Posted January 4, 2004 Posted January 4, 2004 > West 406 and their fumed silica are nearly the >same. The only complaint I had was Raka's was a little 'compressed' date=' so >it had little balls to be broken up. No big deal at all, considering how >much $$ I saved. > >I haven't found a comparable filler to microlight in the Raka line. >(We are talking about the very light filler that is a light beige in color?). >If they do have a comparable filler, please post, as I didn't find it.... > >I did use there microbaloons and found that to be a very good buy. > >Did this help you at all??[/quote'] Yes, this does help. Thanks for helping me clear my fog of ignorance. Quote
Greg Luckett Posted January 4, 2004 Posted January 4, 2004 Microlight is a plastic filler and is not recommended for use under dark colors. He sells glass beads in the place of Microlight' date=' or did sell it, along with Microballons, which is like the 407 west system. Fumed silica is the same as the 406.Be very careful with the glass beads. It is so fine, and it will automatically go up your nose, if not masked properly. The lumps used to come because he packaged it in black bags. The beads come in a clear bag. Like I said, its been about three years since I bought from him in any bulk..[/quote'] This helped too, thankyou. Quote
capt jake Posted January 4, 2004 Posted January 4, 2004 Thanks for helping me clear my fog of ignorance. No fog to clear!! I went through this and I am glad to share what I have learned be it slight! My Oyster has a LOT of experience with epoxies!!! He can answer a lot more than I can, as he has used a 'few' more gallons than I! Glad this helped! :) Quote
Guest Posted January 4, 2004 Posted January 4, 2004 Nighty-nite. Don't glue yourselves in a corner now. See you on the flip side. I see I am a blue bathwater sailor, now. :wink: Yahoo!!!! What did I do to desire that? I went out in a canoe today? Quote
capt jake Posted January 4, 2004 Posted January 4, 2004 Ya Ya ya , my 'bathwater' is frozen at present. Nighty nite!! Quote
capt jake Posted January 4, 2004 Posted January 4, 2004 Another good place to purchase cloth is http://www.fiberglasssupply.com/default.asp I was really impressed with pricing and their speedy delivery. Quote
John Yow Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 I have used wood flour on some prior projects and a silica mix on others. I am planning to use Raka's maple wood flour on my CS, especially for the long fillets. I have tried some and it is easy to handle and smooth. It also costs much less that silica fillers, I think. anyone else tried their Maple wood flour. It certainly seems to make a strong fillet? John Quote
Wade Posted January 8, 2004 Author Posted January 8, 2004 Not being an expert, I'm sure someone else will chime in, but I understand that wood flour absorbs the epoxy. Meaning you will be using more and adding to the weight of the boat. Later, Quote
Roger Peterson Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 anyone else tried their Maple wood flour. It certainly seems to make a strong fillet?John Hi John, I am using the maple wood flour from Raka on my CS-17. The stuff is really fine and mixes well with the epoxy giving a very dark brown color. Nice and smooth to work with "BUT" I also add silica to help keep it from sagging. It does'nt seem to "soak up" any more epoxy than silica, in fact, it seems to extend the epoxy by about 50 percent. When you add the wood flour and silica, the quantity increases giving you more "filler" than the epoxy you started with. Roger Quote
Tom Lathrop Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 Wood flour is an excellent filler for filets but: If you wait until the epoxy sets up, you will have a rough surface on the filet that requires lots of sanding. You will need to use silica in any case for the usual reasons. I use a mix of half flour and half silica. The rough surface is caused by the flour absorbing epoxy which shrinks back a bit from the surface/ or the flour particles absorbing epoxy and expanding proud above the surface. I don't know which, probably both. I try to make my filets in one step, including the glass tape so that minimal or no sanding is required. It is best to let the epoxy filet get a bit set so that placing the tape does not disturb your perfectly shaped job. If time is critical and you are careful, you can do all this at the same time. In any case, sanding is to be regarded as a sin when possible. Care and neat work (clean up drips, smears, etc) really pays off with epoxy. Sanding is drudge work, especially if you the only drudge available. Quote
John Yow Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 Thanks for the responses. I'll try adding some silica to my flour. I also try to make the fillet and tape it at the same time. The idea of letting the fillet set up a bit to protect its shape before taping is one I will start using. I've found that when taping right away, it is too easy to mess up the shape of the fillet. CS17#102 Quote
Greg Luckett Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 What's the best ratio of wood flour to silica? Quote
Melissa Goudeseune Posted January 9, 2004 Posted January 9, 2004 Greg, I've had good success with a ratio of 4 fl oz epoxy : 3 fl oz wood flour : 1.5 fl oz cabosil. I use plastic shot glasses from a party store to measure things out. It spread out fairly nicely for my inside fillets. With a lower amount of cabosil, the mixture tended to drag along with the spreader. Can't tell you how it sands yet -- I'll find out once I flip the boat again . Michel Quote
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