I just bought a used whitewater boat. It has the usual "fuzzy" surface a well loved whitewater kayak gets. I thought it might be fun to try and polish up the surface of the kayak so it looks a bit newer. Is there any safe way of removing just the fuzz without thinning the hull? This is far from a priority in my life but I am going to have hernia surgery in Dec and I will need something not too strenuous to occupy the aquatic portion of my mind while I heal. Send beer in lieu of flowers. Jim et al *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
From: <jfarrelly5_at_comcast.net> > I just bought a used whitewater boat. It has the usual "fuzzy" surface > a well loved whitewater kayak gets. I thought it might be fun to try and polish > up the surface of the kayak so it looks a bit newer. Is there any safe way of > removing just the fuzz without thinning the hull? You could try heat to melt the fuzzies (with great care) or a scraper (like a cabinet scraper). See if you can find something on ski base repair on the web or in a library - the techniques are pretty much the same. Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
As another reply suggested, use ski tuning technique. Rocks and sand have done to your hull what a ski technician does using a steel brush and/or sandpaper: created a "hairy" surface that is just the thing for XC racing skis under certain conditions. The way we "shave" a hairy ski usually involves a precision surgical steel scraper. However, you can do a pretty good job of getting the coarser stuff off with a plastic stripping pad. You can get it at a paint store. It's normally used in combination with a chemical stripper like Bix or Strip-eez. Formby's makes them; I think 3M does too. It looks like a Scotchbrite pad on steroids, or very coarse steel wool. You can't damage the hull with it, at least not without risking another hernia ;^) You might even try clamping it somehow into a palm orbital sander, since there's so much area to cover. Good luck with both operations. Been there, done that, feel much better now, thanks. Dan Harrison ------------------------------ >Date: Sun, 13 Oct 2002 20:48:46 -0400 >From: jfarrelly5_at_comcast.net >Subject: [Paddlewise] polishing > I just bought a used whitewater boat. It has the usual "fuzzy" surface a well loved whitewater kayak gets. I thought it might >be fun to try and polish up the surface of the kayak so it looks a bit newer. Is there any safe way of removing just the fuzz >without thinning the hull? This is far from a priority in my life but I am going to have hernia surgery in Dec and I will need >something not too strenuous to occupy the aquatic portion of my mind while I heal. Send beer in lieu of flowers. >Jim et al *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
jfarrelly5_at_comcast.net wrote: >I thought it might be fun to try and polish up the surface of the kayak >so it looks a bit newer. Is there any safe way of removing just the >fuzz without thinning the hull? Not that I'm recommending anyone try this (proceed at your own risk), but I had pretty good success using 120 grit sandpaper to smooth off all the fuzzies. Even more risque, I wet-sanded with a 120 grit in my Random Orbital Sander to keep the paper from clogging. Hosed the boat so it was wet, shut the hose off, and sanded. I did have the sander connected to a GFCI breaker...but the sander itself never got wet. Then, the big fuzzies were gone, and the boat was smooth, but now "micro-fuzzy". I hit it with a propane torch, and it melted all the baby fuzzies and made things pretty smooth. A heat gun would be more consistent. Keep the torch or heat gun moving. Don't apply heat to any area for a very long time, or you could deform the boat. You just want to melt the surface fuzzies--ideally, the thickness of the plastic won't even get warm. It seemed like a good idea at the time. It did work, though. Michael Daly mentioned a cabinet scraper. I didn't have one at the time, but I think that would work great! Smoother, safer, probably faster. Shawn __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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