So my question is really how much weight did I add? AND can I do anything about it now? Will lots of sanding do the trick?
watch the vid for the explanation
There is also the whole video posted for this build
Thanks in advance for a tips or valuable feedback
How much is too much you ask?
Depends....
Those smooth areas are fine, in fact that's what you want on your 'glassed surfaces if they're to go on the outside.
If that's the inside surface then yes, maybe too much. But sanding won't help much as you still want fully saturated cloth but sanding off what's above the cloth - what's leaving those slick areas - risks sanding into the glass fibers, which'd mean having to add more epoxy to best seal them from wear and weather.
Lots of builders strive for the saturated but still 'open' weave texture on inside panels 'cause they're less slippery when wet. Exactly why filled weave is what you want on the outsides.
Either way it appears that you have not sanded the thing since epoxy. And it appears that your surface coat was uneven. Don't worry it happens to all of us.
At this point I'd usually squeege in another fill coat to the cloth texture areas to fill them. They sand the whole thing with 60 grit to get an even scratch pattern working on the "smooth" built up areas most. Then work with 120 grit and perhaps 220 grit to prep for varnish.
Too much weight............? Compair the design weight of the thing to the actual weight achieved. It is not unusual to be heavier and the world won't come to an end if you are.
Take a look at Nick's finishing sanding video..........
https://youtu.be/D3s8gESVSdE
OK a little bit more boat but the sanding process is the same.
It is on the inside of the deck.
The directions say mix up 8 oz. and you will probably need to do this 2 times. I did it a LOT more than 2 times the epoxy was not spreading out the way I would hav expected..
I am considering this all practice before I get to the outer fiberglass work.
Thanks for the feedback.
I am hoping I get better before doing the bottom. And ultimately the top.
How hard can I push around the epoxy to saturate the cloth?
MacSideJosh >> How hard can I push around the epoxy to saturate the cloth?
Depends on what you push with. Basically, you want to push hard enough that excess puddles are moved to dry cloth but not hard enough to damage the glass fibers. If you push too hard you "overwork" the glass. That is, you pull tiny, almost invisible, fibers out of the threads. They accumulate in the epoxy and form the dreaded glass snot which is very messy and distracting to deal with.
Pushing too hard also moves the glass around and can leave you with unexpexted bare wood and/or bubbles. Not pushing hard enough leaves you with excess epoxy and floating glass.
A squeegee is a good tool for moving the epoxy. It naturally moves the excess away from puddles. However, because it concentrates the pressure along a thin edge it can easily overwork the cloth. If that edge digs in, it can damage the glass, too. The only way to get good with a squeegee is through practice, but once you do get proficient with it it does a very good job.
My personal favorite is gloved hands. There's no sharp edges and I can actually feel if the glass is too dry or if there are puddles and the glass is floating. I can also feel how much pressure I'm applying and correct instantly. The downside is that it's messy, especially if I have to change gloves.
Remember also that if things aren't going well you can always peel up the saturated cloth, move it around and smooth it down again. If it's really bad you can peel it up while it's still wet, throw it away and try again. You don't have to settle for bad glass on your boat.
Finally, a roll of paper towels is your friend. Once the glass is down and still wet, roll paper towels onto it. Let them sit for a few minutes to blot the excess, pull them off and tip the bubbles with a foam brush.
Blotting saturated glass leaves you with pretty much the perfect glass/resin ratio for maximum strength and minimum weight. The weave is completely unfilled and visible but the glass is completely saturated. Once you have the glass like this, you can keep applying very thin coats of epoxy just until the weave is filled to get minimum weight.
Have fun,
Laszlo
Laszlo,
Thank you for the pointers. Hope i can get it right on the outside of the deck and hull?
What you do think about sanding this interior to decrease the excess there?
If lightest possible weight is important to you, then by all means sand it. Since it's the inside nobody will ever see it so it's not an esthetic concern. Weight control and practice are the only reasons to sand it.
If you do decide to sand it, I'd suggest not filling the weave. Since that's the inside of a sealed space it does not need to be smooth or pretty. Unfilled weave is lighter and you're not prepping that section for varnish, just removing gobs. grumpy's description above is how you'd do it for varnish prep. For the sealed interior I'd recommend a light sanding all over with 120 paper to find the high spots (the high spots will turn dull while the low spots will stay shiny) and then just sanding those and ignoring the low spots. If the gobs are really thick you can switch to a coarser paper when sanding them, like 80, then back to 120 as you get close to the glass. Just stop before you sand into the glass.
As you get close to the glass you'll start to see the weave through the sanded epoxy. If you wipe the sanded epoxy with denatured alcohol it will turn clear until the alcohol dries, at which point it will turn cloudy again. If the weave disappears while the epoxy is wet you're not in the glass yet. if it stays visible you've sanded into the glass.
Experience will tell you just how far you can sand before you have to stop. If you do get into glass anywhere, put a thin coat of epoxy just on that spot and don't sand there again. Ideally you want to stop just before you get through that last bit of epoxy and start sanding glass. practice tells you when that is. Even you you don't get absolutely every last bit of excess epoxy off, you will still have lightened the boat.
And as grumpy said above, a little extra weight is no great tragedy. It'll still be a fun boat/board in the water, just a bit more work to carry.
Laszlo
Laszlo, I appreciate your detailed responses.
There is a bit too much epoxy I think will probably spend some time sanding simply to appease myself. I am not a small guy and would like to make sure that the boat is not taking up some of the weight I could put on the board for a good ride.
Out of my own curiosity I have taken the weight of the deck (without trimming the edge which would happen later anyways) it is 16 lbs. The hull currently is 19lbs. I am already over the 30 something of the design build. Again not a really big deal but one of the first questions I was asked by a colleague when I started this project was how much will it weigh. Because they were worried about getting a boat off of a car top and to the water. While that is not a concern of mine right now. It maybe in the future and I would like to use this for a while.