Builders' Forum |
|
| ↓ Scroll to Last Comment ↓ | Forum Guidelines | Builders' Forum |  RSS
|
Maybe I should call this post, "Ugly Scarf Joints, Part 7."
I'm building a Wood Duck 12 hybrid, and the scarf joints on the bottom panels came out a little rougher than I would like. I held each panel a few feet from the scarf and let it bend under its own weight. The curve was fair and I'm confident the joint is strong, but I can feel a hump when I run my hand over it. If I decide to smooth over this hump for cosmetic purposes (which I may or may not do,) any advice on what to use? I was going to use some standard wood putty from the hardware store, but then I started thinking about epoxy and wood flour. But the epoxy route seems like if might be more difficult to sand. I'm basically looking to do what you'd do with Bondo on a wrinkled car fender.
By the way, I'd prefer to fill the very minor dip on the low side of the joint rather than sand down the high side, so as not to remove the outer ply from one side of the joint.
6 replies:
RE: Preferred wood filler
Scratch,
I used epoxy thickened (a lot) with wood flower to fill the open seams that remained after afixing my deck (between hull and deck boards). Yesterday I sanded the excess off and the wood flower sanded pretty easily (80 grit on a random orbital). It was much easier to take down than the epoxy thickened with Cell-O-Fil, used to attach the deck.
Plus, the wood flower mix will be closer to mahogany in color, if that's an issue.
Larry
RE: Preferred wood filler
Thanks guys. The area in question will be painted, so I'm mainly concerned about how easily it can be sanded and, most important, are there any issues with flexing the material over time.
RE: Preferred wood filler
Microballoons and epoxy are the choice fairing materials and will hold up as well as anything else.
George K
RE: Preferred wood filler
Thanks for the help George and Larry...I think I'll be sticking with expoy.
RE: Preferred wood filler
Scratch,
You are right to not sand down the high side. Once you stitch it together, there won't be much flex in the hull to worry about.
I had a small dip in the joints on the bottom of the hull also, so I skimmed it with epoxy/microballoon mix. I used West 407 low density filler mixed to a bondo consistency. I also skimmed the hull of my Mill Creek the same way before painting it. If you do not thicken your epoxy, it will not level well. If you use a high density filler like cell-o-fill, cab-o-sil / colloidal silica (ground glass) it will be even harder to sand and you cannot smooth it into the surface easily. Stick with the microballoon method as long as you are coating or painting the hull.
JAY
RE: Preferred wood filler
» Submitted by George K - Tue, 11/17/09 » 1:49 PM
If you decide to smooth out the area mix phenolic microballoons in the epoxy to make it easier to sand. CLC sells 'em.
George K