Resin down my hulls

I finished fiberglassing my h16 some time ago. This was the first time I ever took on a project like this so I ended up with newly fiberglassed bottoms but with a big mess. My H16 is upside down and running down the hulls is resin from the fiberglass. This stuff is really hard to get off. Sanding these resin runs doesn’t really do anything. Does anyone have any suggestion on how to remove the resin that has ran down my hulls?

You may be able to chip it off if the hull surface is not to rough or oxidized. Would chip off easily if the hull had been recently waxed.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

LOL! Yeah this boat hasnt been waxed since it was made I'm sure. I'm trying to fix it up for this reason! I'll give it a shot, I guess with a hammer and a chisel. Thanks

I sucessfully removed the resin with a block planar I got from Lowes. The only problem is that it left small holes in my hulls. I've read some other post on here and I suppose I should fill them with a fairing compound (such as 3M Premium Filler?).
The fiberglass I put on the bottom of the hulls is not looking like it going to do the job. Is there something I can put on the bottoms that isnt fiberglass but provides a hard alternative, that isnt messy and that paint will stick to? Thanks!!!!

Why don't you think the fiberglass is going to do the job? It's quite strong.

Put a layer along the keels and then make sure you use acetone and a rag to wipe off any dripping epoxy.

After that cures, mix some microbaloons and epoxy to make a peanut-butter or frosting-like consistancy and use that to fill the weave and fair everything. When that cures, then paint.

_________________
Warm regards,

Jim

Well maybe I did it wrong then. The fiberglass kit that I bought contains resin versus epoxy. So let me make sure I have this right. Put one layer of fiberglass down (one strip) and cover it in epoxy. Then let it cure and after that mix up the fiberglass into the resin to a paste and then put that on top of it? What is a microballon? Then fair the whole boat or just the part just worked on? Does that sound right? Just making sure!

Bottom Job?

The basics that I have seen done is to flatten the keel a little with a rasp. Paint a little resin (epoxy and polyesther are both resins) on the keel. Lay on a layer of glass. Pour or paint on more resin and than use a squeege to spread and thin. Another layer of cloth and more resin. By the way... enough resin is when the glass goes from white to nearly clear. Squeege each layer down and thin. Lay on 4-6 layers of glass and resin. Again... you have to squeege down thin. The more compressed the layers the better. Don't try to form the layers around the keel shape, just stack them up. Once the last layer is on and it starts to cure a little (we call it green) when it is stiff but not yet hard... you can trim the excess glass with a razor knife. The more you trim, the less you will have to grind off to shape, but trimming too tight can be bad too if you trim too much and have to fill later. Shape the whole thing with files and or grinders. YOu can sail as-is or cover with a finish coat of resin. No need to paint unless you will be showing off the keels by flying hulls or capsizing!

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

@ "showing off keels by flying hulls or capsizing."

Matt's method is also good. A few layers of glass will give more protection than one, obviously.

Microbaloons are tiny little plastic beads. Tiny enough that it looks like powdered sugar. You mix them with (your choice of) resin to thicken it so you can fill the weave in the fiberglass and otherwise do general fairing.

If I read correctly, Matt is saying "put a bunch of layers and sand/grind them smooth." I'm basically saying the same thing, but instead of putting, say, 5 layers of glass, put 3-4 and then cover them with the thickened epoxy. That way when you sand it smooth, you're not sanding into/through the weave of the glass and weakening it, but just into the fairing compound (thickened epoxy.)

In the end the result is the same, especially if you paint over it.

Jim

Actually microballoons are hollow.
They are technically referred to as microspheres and are made of many different materials.

The ones used for fiberglassing boats are usually made of glass or phenolic. The glass are usually white and the phenolic are usually brown.

They have two purposes on boats.

One is lightweight filler, as has been discussed.

The other is to create a surface that paint or gelcoat will bond tightly to.
When the filler mix is sanded, it cuts through the balloons, leaving a microscopic, pockmaked surface.
The surface coating, gelcoat or paint, grips these tiny holes tightly.

I know of several people who used a graphite powder filler as the finish coat on their keels.

Yes, I had intended to imply that they were hollow but I failed to do so. Thanks for filling that in. What I did *not* know was *why* they were hollow. Very interesting; thank you!

Thanks everyone!