Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Step 8Sanding Fiberglass. yuck.
After all of your fiberglassing is done, you are ready to sand and it smooth.
Because your fiberglass is now hardened and holding the boat together, you can now remove the ribs. If necessary, take out the screws and patch the holes with little pieces of fiberglass.
I have a little Ryobie orbital sander. I used 40 grit paper...a LOT of it, to sand the seams of the boat. I think I used at least 6 packs of the stuff between the two boats. Probably more.
When sanding fiberglass, please always use the following safety precautions:
1) Wear a respirator. You do NOT want microscopic shards of glass in your lungs. Very bad.
2) Wear goggles. You don't want it in your eyes either. Here, I sport Wonka goggles.
3) Wear long sleeved shirts and pants. I figured this out the hard way. You'll itch for days if you do not do this. It's quite uncomfortable.
4) Wear gloves. Same reason.
5) In this picture, I have my jackhammer ear protectors on. the sander is quite loud on 1/4" plywood. I reccommend this.
(Incidentally, I have retrofitted these ear protectors with headphones. I listen to audiobooks when I work. www.audible.com is a great resource for this.)
Ok. Safety taken care of. Sand away. Just make all the seams smooth.
Because your fiberglass is now hardened and holding the boat together, you can now remove the ribs. If necessary, take out the screws and patch the holes with little pieces of fiberglass.
I have a little Ryobie orbital sander. I used 40 grit paper...a LOT of it, to sand the seams of the boat. I think I used at least 6 packs of the stuff between the two boats. Probably more.
When sanding fiberglass, please always use the following safety precautions:
1) Wear a respirator. You do NOT want microscopic shards of glass in your lungs. Very bad.
2) Wear goggles. You don't want it in your eyes either. Here, I sport Wonka goggles.
3) Wear long sleeved shirts and pants. I figured this out the hard way. You'll itch for days if you do not do this. It's quite uncomfortable.
4) Wear gloves. Same reason.
5) In this picture, I have my jackhammer ear protectors on. the sander is quite loud on 1/4" plywood. I reccommend this.
(Incidentally, I have retrofitted these ear protectors with headphones. I listen to audiobooks when I work. www.audible.com is a great resource for this.)
Ok. Safety taken care of. Sand away. Just make all the seams smooth.
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
6
comments
|
Add Comment
|
Jul 31, 2009. 3:56 PMfakedead50
says:
What Do U Do About The Cracks On the Side Of The Boat
Reply
1
Jul 9, 2009. 12:56 PMrbodell
says:
Like he said, wear long pants and shirt sleeves. tape the sleeves and pants legs around your ankles and wrists. Put a towel over your head and around your neck and tape it too. Any exposed skin cover with Vaseline. If you mess up and leave skin exposed, it will itch like you never itched before. rinse the area with alcohol first them cold water. NEVER HOT WATER. it opens the poors in your skin and the glass gets into them and it itches for days. Be especially careful about breathing the dust.
Reply
Jun 21, 2009. 9:55 PMthemonorail
says:
will the boat work if i don't sand the fiberglass down? i really don't have the finances for a mask and all that business.
Reply
1
Jun 22, 2009. 4:12 PM
rook999 (author)
says:
rook999 (author)
says:
It should. Try hard to keep the fiberglass smooth as you apply it and you wouldn't need much sanding. You could get away with hand sanding. If you mix something in to the fiberglass, use flour. The sawdust is what makes sanding necessary.
Reply
Jun 23, 2009. 8:25 PMthemonorail
says:
great thanks. now about how much weight will this hold?
Reply
1
Jun 24, 2009. 7:14 PMrook999 (author)
says:
rook999 (author)
says:
The boats will hold one full sized person about 250 lbs. More or less. Hope that helps!
Reply
 |
Add Comment
|
