Paint Prep= Pure Irritation!!!

[Atious]

I have purchased Prather and Dumas hulls for years (along many others, don't complain) but the Lap Cat III I got last month is the worst boat I have ever purchased. The epoxyglass is soooo pitted that its driving me nuts!! The pinholes are so small that I cant get body filler in them no matter how hard I try. I then tried glazing but that stuff isnt worth crap either. I bought some pinhole filling type primer, that was a waste of money at 5 bucks a can. Eventually, I went and got a decent automotive primer and sprayed so thick it was running in waves! After sanding, it actually showed to have entered the pinholes! But I still had to do it again and it looks as though I may have to do a third coat. I have never recieved a boat from Prather in such a poor condition. Anyone got any pinhole filling tips for me in case I come across this again?

 

[Dennis Whitt]

About 6 years ago Irecieved a carbon fiber Mono that was laid up so light it was like a screen.

After doing what you described I ended up taking medium CA and rubbing it on in the areas that neede it and then wet sanded it.It worked great!

 

[Propjockey]

Try this. Mix up some epoxy and thin the crap out of it with denatured alcohol...I mean THIN. Brush it on heavy, wipe off the excess, let it cure and sand.

 

[Atious]

Call me slow, but I hadnt thought of either method! Actually, every boat I'd previously purchased was in great finish shape, so I'd never needed the experience. Thanks for the tips guys.

 

[[email protected]]

Or you can mix fiberglass resin, hardner and a lot of Micro Ballon and wipe it on w/a paper towl very, very thin!. Sands right off.

If you want to see bad you should have seen my buddies "Blew By You Winston Eagle". It looked like someone spent all day shooting it with a BB gun after the Termites ate through an ant hill that lead into a Swiss cheese factory. What a piece of crap!

 

[DaddySundown]

Those pin holes are a real pain, > but once your done you can appreciate the boat when you are done. Here's a pic of mine.

Alan

 

[Joe Reese]

give the priming time to fill, three coats is to little, it will take 4-5 to see the filling action ;D when you get to 6-8 the pits should be covered . Beleave me I am there with you wood is the worst to fill !!!!!

 

[_laxmasta2039]

Atious,

my only advice is DONT do fiberglass cloth and resin- it is a huge pain to apply and always with out fail ends up full of wrinkles and bubbles, and takes hours upon hours of work to smooth.

PJ,

that sounds like a good idea....do you think it would work to help strengthen a plastic hull for nitro running?

Joe

 

[Propjockey]

Lax -- I don't think the epoxy by itself would help. I used epoxy and 'glass on the inside of an ABS mono hull to stiffen it up for nitro use.

 

[_laxmasta2039]

that's a good idea....f-glass is strong but ugly, so putting it on the inside would work well. it'll be alot of work to get it on there though, it's hard enough to get glasscloth to go on outside surfaces, it'll be harder to get it on inside hard-to-access surfaces and strange angles.

Joe

 

[Mark Anderson]

Try brushing on a coat of primer. When you spray primer it does not fill the holes well. If you are using rattle cans spray a heavy coat on an area of the boat and wipe it around with a paper towel this will force primer into the holes. Wet sand the boat and use glazing putty to fill any remaining pin holes. Then spray a medium coat on and let it dry. Before sanding go over the boat and fill any remaining holes with glazing putty and wet sand. One more light coat to seal the putty and wet sand with 400 and you are ready for paint. I try to sand almost all the primer from the first couple of coats off to keep from building up weight.

Mark

 

[Atious]

Well, lets see, 12 coats of primer hasnt done enough damage to those holes. I'd like to use the epoxy tip but would rather do it on the hull BEFORE primer or any other coat. I tried glazing putty before primer but it wouldnt go into the holes and when it did, it wouldnt stick to the epoxyglass surface before pulling back out with the pass of the putty knife. Now that the primer has built up enough to remove the holes sharp edges the putty spreads on much better. Using body putty would be soo much easier but sanding it takes forever when being careful not to sand over onto unputtied areas. Anyone here used modellers putty? Thats the stuff you get in the paint kit from Testors. It sands really nice and spreads better and dries quicker than glazing putty. Doesnt try to rob you of your breath like glazing putty does either.