Glen-L.com

Well, I finally have the hull of my Squirt in tact and I am ready to begin preparation for fiberglassing.

Question #1:

I plan to use Minwax Wood Filler (two part polyester I believe) to fill all of the screw holes as well as to fill in and smooth out the stem area (that didn't meet absolutely perfectly) and the transition area (a little sloppy, but not too bad). The Minwax Wood Filler is readily available and so very easy to use, but I read one post that stated that polyester filler can't be used when coating with epoxy. Is this true? My plan is to fiberglass with epoxy (Clark Craft appears to have a cheaper product) and then paint with solid color epoxy after adding my keel strip.

Question #2:

I plan to sand all edges to the approximate curve of a pencil as suggested so that the cloth and epoxy do not spring back, but I am concerned about how to rebuild those edges afterwards. First of all, do I need to rebuild the edge along the chines? Secondly, how do I rebuild the edge where the bottom meets the transom? Can I simply dam the area with wood and wax paper and use Poxy Grip or laminating epoxy filled with sawdust?

Question #3:

I plan to do the glass and epoxy work at the end of September in my unheated garage loft here in Minnesota. I will wait for a day that the outside temperature gets up to 70 or higher (with LUCK), but that won't last overnight. (Heating the loft would be impossible, but it will always be warmer than the outside.) Sooo......can I get it done or am I risking having a poor cure? I hate to have to wait until next Spring to get through this stage as I would like to wrap it up for the G-kids by then. (I am planning on using Clark Craft Epoxy Plus because it is FAR cheaper and mixes 50/50.)

Thanks so much for your help as always. I couldn't do this without it. This is my first ever wood project.

for the screw holes famowood filler works good for filling the gap at the stem epoxy with wood flour might be better

Are you saying that Minwax will not work? Not compatible with epoxy?

oil stains are not compatible with epoxy. If you use an oil stain you will need to coat everything with CPES about three or four coats prior to epoxy.

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John Amundsen
Monte Carlo
Winter Haven, FL

Maybe it will be done by G6 and maybe not.

I appreciate the responses, but no one has addressed my three questions. I am not asking about stains. I am asking about fillers.

If anyone can directly answer my three questions, I would really appreciate it.

Thank you.

I would stay with epoxy fillers like resin with wood flour or use something like System Three Quick Fair.

You only need to square up the bottom rear edge of the transom. All other corners can be rounded. Used glass cloth, flox and resin to build up and reshape the corner. A small radius like 1/16" is fine.

I would not use any epoxy product below it's recommended curing temperature and expect longer cure times and possibly more amine blush in colder temps. Heat your work space and keep it heated until the product is fully cured. Or wait for better weather.

Roberta

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Roberta
Built Zip "Oliver IV" and Super Spartan "Jimmy 70"

Thanks so much Roberta. I am going to wait until Spring when the temperature is more reliable.