I was asked to post this.

A friend is deglazing the bottom of a cedar boat. Is this good or should he take it back and get the West System?

Thanks a lot

Dani,

Not sure what you/he means by "deglazing".

Automotive body putty will work to fill in depressions and voids in the cedar hull. "Glazing putty" in an automotive application is used as a follow up after the bondo work is done. The glazing putty fills in the sanding scratches and pinholes in the surface, before primer and paint is applied.

I have used the "bondo" quite successfully on many projects. I suspect there will be no need for actual "glazing putty". Bodo can not be feathered out to as thin and fine an edge as the glazing putty. Just depends on how smooth a surface he is looking for.

This is assuming he is looking to apply the bondo directly to the bare wood and then glass over top. If he is wanting to level/blend in imperfections after the glassing operation, before painting, then he may want to glazing putty.

As to using the products offered by the West Systems instead of the automotive products, either one should be just fine on bare wood. If the hull already has an epoxy coating, then the automotive product may not stick to the already present epoxy surface. My understanding is polyester products (bondo) will not stick to epoxy. But epoxy resin/cloth, can be applied over the polyester bondo.

I hope this helps and doesn't just confuse you. If you want yo talk over the phone send me a PM and I'll send you my phone number.

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Take care, Huntindave McCann SHELL ROCK IA. ,,,,,, "As sailors grow older, the wiser ones move to smaller boats." Thomas Firth Jones, Multihull Voyaging

Deglazing or REglazing? If that is polyester based I would get the epoxy based West product.

Actually it was supposed to be glassing over some areas on his boat.

That is what we used to call Tiger Hair for auto body repair. It is polyester resin based. Epoxy resin is preferred for boats.

Joe

Good morning, Dani~


As others have said, the question here really boils down to polyester or epoxy.



Polyester is appropriate for boats made of fibreglass. For wooden boats, though, the resin should be epoxy.



WEST system is wonderful stuff - but it's not the only epoxy system on the market. There are many other lines, most of which are much less expensive. In your neck of the woods, I have been very happy with U S composites for several years now.


Epoxy product lines typically include a variety of resins and a host of hardeners, fillers and additives. Each has a special "best use". I recommend your friend chat with the tech experts at whichever company he/she goes with. (And, yes, products from one company can be used with products from another. I use US Composites resin but have a few WEST fillers and additives on hand.)


If all of the existing 'glass is being removed - down to bare cedar - I would envision first thoroughly sanding, then rolling on a soaking coat of epoxy resin, then filling and surfacing imperfections after it cures. THEN, the re-glassing would commence.



One last general note: Epoxy resins must be mixed with their hardeners precisely at their specified ratios. I use graduated mixing cups so I can get the 3:1 (resin:hardener) ratio I use most of the time. Most suppliers also offer calibrated manual pumps that dispense the specified ratios.



Hope this helps!


SJS

Steven Jay Sanford
Pencil Brook Farm
South Cambridge, NY
http://www.stevenjaysanford.com

Thanks a lot y'all!

Dani, Raka epoxy is very good with a FL. Distribution. You can add thickeners of you choosing to get the working properties desired. I?ve used it successfully on all my restoration projects.

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I never know which is worse: the sorrow when you hit the bird, or the shame when you miss.
http://www.hillmandecoys.com
Mullica Hill NJ