You could cut the ends of the nails off with a dremel tool or gring them off with a sander before coating them with epoxy. That might give you a better finish on the inside of the sheer-clamp.
You will be fiberglassing the deck soon, that will seal all the nail heads. After you have cut the hatches out of the deck, go on an extensive hunt for protruding nail points. Cut/grind them flush with the sheer clamps, then cover with unthinned epoxy. Any nails that you can’t cut flush with the wood, use some thickened epoxy to cover. You don’t want anyone’s hands or feet getting cut and you don’t want protruding nails or nail stubs to grab anything being stored in or retrieved from your hatches. Good luck.
The kayak is loaded up on my Jeep ready to make the trip up North to the U.P. of Michigan. It isn't quite done yet so my dad and I will be finishing it there. Things left to do:
-- Finish epoxying the deck.
-- Combing
-- Hatches
-- Redo some of the graphite.
-- Paint the sheer lines.
-- Varnish.
That's still quite a bit to do, but I've got 3 weeks to get it done. I think I can do it.
-- jaydillyo
The kayak still isn't done yet. I'm at my parent's house visiting hoping to finish it up, but disaster has struck. I put one coat of varnish on it last time I was here and left. My dad put on 3 more coats of varnish while I was gone. I had hoped to come back with the kayak ready to be outfitted, but that isn't the case.
Neither of us have ever varnished anything like this before. I'm using Z Spar Captain's varnish. I am not at all happy with the results. There were brush marks everywhere and honestly it looked pretty bad.
I wet sanded the top of the kayak until most of the brush marks were gone and put on another coat and it still looks like crap. It was at this point that I realized that the varnish is way thicker than it seemed it should be.
I did some more research and from what I can gather the varnish should be thinned out. Of course it doesn't say this anywhere on the can. CLC doesn't say this anywhere in the directions or in the video either. I was totally unaware that this should be done and now I'm stuck with a kayak that I'm not proud of.
I feel really let down, especially by Pettit. I'm not sure what I'm going to do at this point. This is definitely not how I wanted to finish this project up. It is a gift for my mother and I'm sure she'll still enjoy paddling it, but it isn't what I wanted to present to her.
-- jaydillyo
Jay,
#1- Don't panick, it's just a boat.
Start by Sanding it smooth, no brush marks, no bumps- smooth, 180 grit should be ok. If you don't have a fairing board, you may want to make one. Gently sand between coats.
Varnish- I like Captain's varnish but a few precautions. ALWAYS pour the varnish into another container before applying. Do not put the left over varnish back in the can and never stick the brush[foam or bristle] into the can, ever. After opening, I use a skim sheet in the can. DO NOT SHAKE, gently stir with something clean. Foam brushes, new with each coat. If the varnish is lumpy, you can filter it through cheese-cloth. CLEAN_NO DUST, consider building a plastic tent and wetting the floor as you get to the finishing coats. Don't varnish in the sun, when it's really hot, never when it is rainning or when it's too cold. Always brush into the wet and don't play with it too much. You can thin the varnish if you want to but I think the varnish you are using is contaminated in some way. Buy another can and save the old for the lawn furniture.
Good luck,
Lew
The can has never been dipped in. The floor has been wet for every coat. I really don't think the varnish is contaminated as I am not seeing stuff in it, I am seeing streaking. In any case I don't have the time to fix this problem as I am only at my parent's house for 3 more days. I am going to put one more coat on today and call it good. We'll launch it on Sunday and then unfortunately I have to go back home for work.
Maybe next summer I'll refinish it. We'll see.
-- jaydillyo
So, I have to say that my "panicking" was for nothing. Any flaws that I could see in the garage under fluorescent lights aren't visible in outdoor lighting conditions. The kayak looks great.
I did end up sanding the top and putting on a thinned coat of varnish and it did improve the finish quite a bit. I do recommend thinning the Z Spar varnish. It goes on much easier and flows out much smoother. You can see my new thread for photos of the completed kayak.