7.25.2012

final filling







a few more pesky grooves....  In this case, I shouldn't really worry too much about some of these areas because they will be covered with a slightly textured non - skid paint which will tend to hide places like this. It's situations like this that cause a person to spend a little too much time in the shop and not enough time sailing.




crazy expensive System Three Quickfair. 

If this product wasn't so easy and nice to use, I would continue to mix up my own fairing compound with epoxy and glass micro balloons. However, using this product as the final step in working out all the surface defects has really been the ticket and well worth the price. 


Here are some of my favorite tools for applying this filler. From left to right:

  1.  a small flexible steel blade - works nice for filling small gouges and divots
  2. a 10 inch sheet rock blade - great for filling flat surfaces with thin skim coats
  3. a rubber spreader - allows you to bend it into convex and concave corners while spreading filler
  4. common body filler - spreader.  ( down side of this particular one is that when you drag it over anything but a perfectly smooth surface, the edge degrades and sometimes sheds small yellow ribbons into your work.  (The spreaders available at automotive stores that are a tan / beige color actually work better )