jackhammer

I'm sanding the sides with 180 grit on a flat board. When I run into little spots like this what should I do? Keep sanding until it's gone? or fill it in with some finalfair?

glassdave

iTrader: (1)

depends on how deep it is. if fairly shallow you might get away with sanding till its gone. I generally fill stuff like that though, simpler and quicker.

jackhammer

Ok, it looks rough but feels much better now. Mostly sanded with 180 on a line sander, but a couple places I hit with 120 on a DA. Should I go over the whole thing with 180 on a DA lightly and then prime away? Should I prime the whole thing? and last but not least, should I use the Awlgrip 545 or is there a better epoxy primer to use in this case?

glassdave

iTrader: (1)

generally i try to not completely prime a whole boat, try to keep film thickness low. i would spot prime and block those areas that need it most and then seal the entire thing. I assume the boat will be primarily white?

jackhammer

Yes, solid white.

I decided to go with the awlgrip 545 for the primer. (white)

By 'seal the entire thing', what do you mean?

jackhammer

I couldn't wait... it got to the point where I couldn't tell what was finished and I thought I could just keep sanding until the boat was only a pile of dust. So I primed using awlgrip 545 knowing I still had work left. It's mainly the lumpiness of the windscreen that still gets under my skin. I have some ultrafair left and plan to use it only on those spots.

I'm also worried about sanding out the runs. I want to make sure I don't sand back down all the primer around it. is there a trick?

Should I now block sand the whole boat with 320? (I meaning a guy I hired for $10/hr)

Lastly, for the pinholes and very minor stuff, can I use the glaze now? and do i need to primer over the glazing/ultrafair?

jackhammer

My goal is to have it looking good from 10'

FIXX

iTrader: (2)

I have been doing body work almost my whole life as a hobby..some of my techniques that work for me is if you have a low spot in several places in one area dont just fill the little spots..fill the low spots first then skim coat the entire area and sand it back off..i would not have primed it until i had all the straightening done first..you will get nowhere with 320, that should be done before you paint..i would only 320 it to get the sand scratches out of the guide coat..

jackhammer

320 is specified by awlgrip before topcoat. Are you saying I should lay down another guide coat?

I don't have much straightening, and I can put down more epoxy based fairing compound over the 545 primer without issue. What I was asking is, can use the polyester glazing compound over the 545 primer? or do i need to keep using the epoxy, i.e. final fair?

302Sport

you shouldve taken the whole boat down and checked out what you had. then you can work from there. also, everything should be done one step at a time meaning=
1. remove existing material
2. do all of your heavy work.
3. now start blocking with whatever grit you feel it needs. most likely start with 80 and work all the way up to 320 where it is ready for paint or 180 where it needs primer.
4. whatever glass is showing through, spot prime the boat.
5. block out the spot primes up to 320
6. seal the whole boat
7. paint the whole boat

film thickness is your worst enemy. keep it low as possible.