svonmiller

Yeah you've definitely convinced me to go with 1700. I really consider myself a little novice when it comes to glassing, and when I used 1708 with epoxy last time it came out horrible - for all of the reasons you listed. Although I didn't really realize why it came out so bad until I just read your post on how to deal with 1708. It was the sole on a sailboat so it was no big deal, but I remember thinking "man I really suck at this."

Thanks for all of the advice, I'm starting to get pretty excited now that I'm getting a plan into place.

glassdave

you know the odd part is how few supply places even carry matless bi ax or uni laminates. Equally surprising is how many people that claim to be industry professionals claim or recommend any matted laminate be used in an epoxy system. It can be used . . . . it just shouldnt if ya can help it. One thing about fiberglass work is a lot of it is just heavy lifting and grunt work. The rest is just staying out of trouble with materials and their uses. Some of this stuff can go bad quick and if ya can keep that from happening its not to bad. What i try to do here is try to keep people from getting off track on their projects. trust me . . . . i ruined a lot of stuff on my own

svonmiller

Hey one more question for ya Dave... how many coats of the PPG single stage do I need? It's a 26 ft boat. Any idea how many gallons that'll be? Since I'm gutting this thing, may as well paint it. It's in really good condition, well taken care of. Should I do anything to it before painting (other than fill in the dings)? Like sand, or primer. Or will that paint stick to just a clean surface?

glassdave

i would start with a gallon and go from there. Paint the sides first and tape them off and asses how much paint you have left for the deck and get more if need be. You will need to prep the surface but its pretty simple. Wipe it down with a good wax and grease remover then sand everything down in 320, spot repair and spot prime as necessary then when you shoot it apply an adhesion promoter like Bulldog and go right to color. generally I dont prime entire boats unless theres a lot or repairs or a color change.

svonmiller

Cool.. do you do more than one coat?

glassdave

usually a couple double wets. Your gonna need to buff it so you want to put on some extra.

svonmiller

Awesome...thanks!!

glassdave

PM me as you get closer and I'll be more then happy to shoot ya the number of the OSO fiberglass and paint tech line

svonmiller

Lol.. thanks. I've read in other posts that you have people call you for help. That's really awesome. Maybe I can return the favor sometime. By trade I'm a software engineer and web designer. So if you ever need help in the area of high-end web sites or software/internet work let me know. I do stuff ranging from custom software systems to web sites on the level of the Miss Geico racing site. Haven't done any boat sites yet, but have been toying with the idea.

glassdave

hmmmm . . . . . well i dont have a website yet