Stump Posted October 23, 2004 Posted October 23, 2004 So, I thought today would be the day to try epoxying something. I have never used the stuff before and thought I'd start small. I chose to coat the inside and outside of the rudder box, thinking that it would be a nice start and then using any extra to pour in the small gaps in the keel. I very carefully put one part of hardner in a container, four parts epoxy in another and then some white vinager in a third, arranged all my materials...and got to work. Putting on gloves, I carefully mixed the hardner into the epoxy and mixed. Wow, I could feel the container start to heat up from the chemical reaction and began "painting" my parts. Had to really pour it on since it seemed to sink in a lot!. Got the rudder box put together and then poured the rest into the keel areas. Gosh, lots of work time. Just a little sticky and thin. Finished and then went to clean up with the vinager I had... :oops: ohh, noo. That vinager sure seems thick! What a minute :shock: That's epoxy!!!!!! :shock: :oops: :cry: Soooo....Started all over again. This time mixing the right stuff. Gee, sure is thicker when you use epoxy rather then vinager :wink: I hung up the rudder box to dry and went inside to finish cleaning up. When I returned out side I found that the rudder box had fallen onto the dead grass inside my encloser and a large quantity of dead materal had stuck to the outside of the box. I rehung the box, more securely this time, and went back inside and called it a day. I'm figureing I'm going to have to sand the crap out the the box to get the grass off but I have no idea how the epoxy is going to cure with the precoating of of vinager and hardner... :roll: All in all, I've had better days. :x Quote
Greg Luckett Posted October 24, 2004 Posted October 24, 2004 And I thought I was having a rough day trying to move a boat on the ground w/o block and tackle and in the rain. You might try a scraper before the epoxy completely hardens. Quote
warthog5 Posted October 24, 2004 Posted October 24, 2004 A rubber Box? Sounds like a good waste of epoxy to me. Never mind the mixing of the stuff wrong and the box falling in the grass. Why didn't you glue some wood scraps together? Quote
Greg Luckett Posted October 24, 2004 Posted October 24, 2004 A rubber Box? Sounds like a good waste of epoxy to me. Never mind the mixing of the stuff wrong and the box falling in the grass.Why didn't you glue some wood scraps together? Eh? Am I missing something? What "rubber" box? Quote
warthog5 Posted October 24, 2004 Posted October 24, 2004 Sorry My mistake. My eyes are real tired. Forget what I said. Rudder Box. Doha! Not Rubber Box. Quote
Greg Luckett Posted October 24, 2004 Posted October 24, 2004 Geee, I thought it was my eyes that missed the boat....LOL. Now that we are both rested.... Quote
Scott Dufour Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Stump, it's good to know I'm not the only one out there that does that kind of quality work. These stories help my courage. Quote
Craig Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 I love it! Thanks so much for the giggle. It came at just the right time today. I heavily modified the Saralee and then tried to fit a standard transome to her. Not realizing my mistake I had three spare transoms before one fit! This boatbuilding stuff is an art not a science and it is acquired from the school of hard knocks. We've all been there, thanks for sharing your fun with us. v/r Craig Quote
Guest Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 The only mistake a person ever makes is doing nothing. I have never made one in my life up to now. The rest of my life is about doing something differently when it didn't work right to my liking the first time around. Quote
ken connors Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 just be careful the next time you make a salad. id hate to see you season it with oil and epoxy :? ................ Quote
Graybeard Posted October 30, 2004 Posted October 30, 2004 I just wanted to let you folks know you helped make my day; now I don't think I'm the only one in the World. I did a nice glass job on my Weekender, but needed a bit of fairing. Carefully mixed my Raka 2 to 1 as directed, but got them backward. One part resin to two parts hardner doesn't work. :oops: Then I scraped it off and tried to get rid of the sticky. Washed it down with all the high dollar stuff my friends recommended; acetone, MEK, alcohol and then left for three weeks. Still sticky! :cry: Finally, read your comments - thought about the vinegar. Two gallons later, I smell like a pickle, but the sticky is gone. Now all I have to do is mix new fairing and get everything all sticky again. Someday I'm sure I'll be able to llaugh about it. Quote
Craig Posted October 30, 2004 Posted October 30, 2004 You will laugh about it but it will take a while. A wise old sargent once told me that if you wern't screwing up you wern't doing anything. He was oh so right. Quote
warthog5 Posted October 30, 2004 Posted October 30, 2004 Graybeard Wann'a save time, money and agrivation on the fairing? Buy some System 3's Quik Fair. Best place to get it is Haniliton Marine. Keep mixing your own and you will be chasing pinholes til the cows come home. http://www.hamiltonmarine.com/ Money well spent. You can sand it after about 6 to 8hrs, unstead of waiting overnight. You will need a digital postal scale to weigh it out. I use the Grams scale. It spreads like butter. It doesn't slump. It sands and featheredges easy. It's put in the containers under vacuum. Here's what it looks like. Quote
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