Michael said (snip): >There's nothing wrong with putting a layer of glass over it, but the epoxy layer will have to be protected from UV.< I also know kayakers who glass on fiberglass tape (either 2" or wider) using white gelcoat as the resin. This generally matches the hull, seems a bit thicker than regular GP resin, and if you use wax paper on top with pressure, can come out fairly smooth. As the gelcoat is not as easily absorbed into the glass tape, one needs to be careful to soak things fairly well. One of the guys on that trip where we were rescued off the Storm Islands had his hull broken up badly during the over-the-rail transfer to the fishing vessel. He repaired the hull using the above method, and reinforced the worn keel line in the same manner - so I know it holds well. Anne also asked on a similar theme: Subject: [Paddlewise] FW: Kayak fiberglass repair ? (snip)>This weekend the epoxy and a layer of the fiberglass came off - the exact size and shape of the fiberglass repair. (rectangle) I'm looking for some good advise on how to redo this repair and also wondering if I can use stronger materials (kevlor, polyethelene.?) for the patch and for a new skid strip that might be tougher - not sure if I can marry these materials to fiberglass.< Doubles do get their fair share of dragging. I think someone already responded regarding proper drying of the hull, initially. I usually dry my kayak hull for two days in the direct sun if glass is exposed. I'll use a light bulb two to three inches away from the surface for better drying in the off season, before attempting repairs. Where water has transmigrated, I'll sometimes give longer drying times. You must also feather the edges a bit, lest something get a hold of the glass strip and "zipper" it off. It is also crucial to prep the repair area properly. I mask off the repair area, and sand with 60 grit, then follow with 100 grit if shinny areas remain, then vacuum up debris and dust. You also need to remove contaminants, so acetone can help. Denatured alcohol (a few drops) set to fire with a match can be effective at cleaning up fuzz and drying a spot more quickly, but I don't recommend this to entry-level repairers. I've seen some amazing repairs to surf boards, and in all cases, only top quality resins were used, and hardeners were all fresh product. There can be a number of reasons for failure, and most often it is poor prep work/ dated materials, or in some cases, too much of a certain mixed substance or even incomplete or stirring. Doug Lloyd Victoria BC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ "Whatever can be said at all can be said clearly and whatever cannot be said clearly should not be said at all." Ludwig Wittgenstein ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue May 13 2003 - 22:40:38 PDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:31:06 PDT