[EBEACH]

What I did is to get some plywood that I had laying around and practice my fiberglassing with that. I wanted to do similar things that would be required to replace a transom. Bonding two ¾ pieces together and then glassing that. Also working with inside and outside corners. I must confess that I could not for the life of me cover a sharp 90 degree outside edge. The freaking mat would not lay down over the corner. After working it for a while, the binder broke down and all hell started to break loose. I can just see that transom notch area to be a real treat. Hammers work is a masterpiece [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] .

I’ve used two types of gel-coat now and found they’re not all the same. I first used evercoat brand. Can be bought at most marine stores. My only problem with this product was the amount of time before it would “kick”. It took hours to get to a tacky state. I then used a product from a fiberglass supplier (LBI in CT). This time I also used styrene to thin the gel-coat for spraying along with acetone. I used about 3 oz of gel and a not so scientific approach to the styrene and acetone. A little of this, and a little of that. I was mostly concerned about overspray and the smell. I was doing this in my basement [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] !! Yes, I had an exhaust fan (finally). I used a “Pre-Val” sprayer ( $4 home depot), and everything went better than I expected. Overspray was never a problem, gel-coat went on fine and you could fill big scratches and pits. No drips, runs or errors. After it kicked, I applied a PVA top coat with another Pre-Val sprayer. By the way, the sprayer with the gel-coat was thrown away after the one time use. The next day, I washed the PVA off with warm water, and began sanding with 320 then 400 then 600.

I’ve got a video on gel-coat repairs If anyone is interested. I’ll pass it on at no charge, as long as you agree to do the same for the next member. Its very boring to watch someone sanding, but there are some good points. The quality is rather poor. Trayder, I didn’t name drop because I wasn’t sure if they’d raise or lower the price (hehehe) [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]