We’ve written before about the challenge of getting smooth surfaces with epoxy and fiberglass. It takes at least three coats of epoxy to “fill the weave,” and then hours of sanding to get to a surface finish that’s ready for paint or varnish.
What if you could skip two of the three coats of epoxy and most of the sanding? Well, you can. Sometimes.
“Peel Ply,” also called “Release Fabric,” is a synthetic cloth that you drape over your epoxied surface as the epoxy sets up. Once cured, you can peel off the fabric, and what’s left behind is a perfectly smooth surface that’s ready for a quick sanding, or for the next round of epoxy. No runs, no sags, no low spots.
Not only is the surface under the peel ply nearly perfectly smooth, it actually has a texture that improves adhesion if you have anything else to stick to it. We use it here whenever we can.
Like all things, there’s a downside to this miracle. Peel ply isn’t stretchy like fiberglass, so you can only use it on really flat surfaces. Hatch covers, for example. Or the components of a stitch-and-glue boat that haven’t been assembled yet, but which are pre-coated in epoxy and/or fiberglass prior to assembly.
If you try to get peel ply to conform to curves, you might end up with wrinkles in the peel ply. And the peel ply will cast those wrinkles in solid epoxy, leading to a horrifying sanding session.
Here’s how to use peel ply to save time and effort:
What if you could skip two of the three coats of epoxy and most of the sanding? Well, you can. Sometimes.
“Peel Ply,” also called “Release Fabric,” is a synthetic cloth that you drape over your epoxied surface as the epoxy sets up. Once cured, you can peel off the fabric, and what’s left behind is a perfectly smooth surface that’s ready for a quick sanding, or for the next round of epoxy. No runs, no sags, no low spots.
Not only is the surface under the peel ply nearly perfectly smooth, it actually has a texture that improves adhesion if you have anything else to stick to it. We use it here whenever we can.
Like all things, there’s a downside to this miracle. Peel ply isn’t stretchy like fiberglass, so you can only use it on really flat surfaces. Hatch covers, for example. Or the components of a stitch-and-glue boat that haven’t been assembled yet, but which are pre-coated in epoxy and/or fiberglass prior to assembly.
If you try to get peel ply to conform to curves, you might end up with wrinkles in the peel ply. And the peel ply will cast those wrinkles in solid epoxy, leading to a horrifying sanding session.
Here’s how to use peel ply to save time and effort:
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: Choose your Peel Ply Application
A kayak hatch cover (the flat ones, as on CLC Shearwaters or Wood Ducks) is a perfect candidate for the peel ply treatment.
Flag this comment as:
Not NiceInappropriateSpam
10
matthieutje65 says:
Jan 6, 2013. 3:26 PMReplyNice to share that with us, It's a well written and clear instructable, but there are other ways to get a perfect finish on flat parts. By vacuumbaging the flat sheet... just put the wood, laminated with epoxy and fiberglass, in a bag and suck al the air out with a vacuumpump or vacuumcleaner, a second way is to lay a layer of plastic on top of the fiberglas ,add a flat piece of wood on top with some weight, and let it cure, you'll get a perfect finish... just a small remark I would like to make is that it is possible to use peelply on more complex shapes, just by cutting it in smaller pieces :)
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
