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I bought a West River 16 1/2 foot kayak that needs some work. I want to sand down the deck, repair some of the wood (yikes) and save the rest of the work for a project this winter. It is partially painted, the deck being stained and varnished. It was left out in the elements, and some of the wood has separated. Okoume plywood. I have sanded down some of it, and there is one spot in particular that will need some filler, either a good cover of fiberglass and epoxy or some wood filler, depending on how I want to finish it in the end. There is no fiberglass on the deck; never was any.
I think, given this damage, it would be best to paint it.
My question is do I use a wood filler or just load up the fiberglass and epoxy? And if I use a wood filler, what brand works well with MAS epoxy?
I think I can get by for right now with just the filler, glassing, epoxy and some varnish. Then I can paint over it this winter. I want to take it out next month, see how I like it. It is well built, sturdy, has a rudder, seat, backrest. It had a compass, but there was damage around it, and I took it off. It was glued on. The plywood was sun-damaged and lifting in that spot. Now I wish I had left it on! Too late.
The hull is fiberglassed and strong. Just needs some TLC there and new paint.
1 reply:
RE: making it seaworthy
» Submitted by Laszlo - Fri, 6/11/10 » 6:24 AM
Here's my rule of thumb: For small structural dings, use wood flour and epoxy. For large structural patches, use glass. For cosmetic dings which are going to be painted anyway, use a fairing compound, such as phenolic microballoons.
In your case, I'd be tempted to use wood flour & epoxy to fill the hole, then put a layer of 4 oz glass over the entire deck to bind it together and to provide abrasion resistance and finally fill the weave with microballoon mix.
Have fun,
Laszlo