Boat Builder Central - Builder Forums

Well, I spent a week fairing my V12 with microballons, then putting on a another coat of epoxy. I figured it was as smooth as glass. But folks, don't believe your eyes - like another post said, if you can feel imperfections, you'll see them when you paint. And boy where they right!
I put my primer on and I could see every little imperfection! I sanded the primer and by this time just said to hell with it and painted. Putting two coats of jade green easypoxy on it made it look much better.
So the moral is - sand, then sand some more or just accept the fact your hull isn't going to look like a gelcoated glass boat.

Yep, thats the stage I am concerned about the most. All my effort, and if not done properly, what a waste.
So, I started asking lots of questions. I went to car body painters, and the greatest tip one showed me was:
Using a soft lint cloth, lightly hold it onto the hull, and move it around feeling every dip and imperfection with the tips of your fingers. All this MUST be done with your eyes closed!
I laughed, thinking he was joking, but then tried it. Takes practice, but it seems to work! I spotted dents in a car he was doing even though I couldnt see them..

Epoxy shrinks. Very little but it shrinks and will never obtain a perfectly fair surface with epoxy only.
The fillers reduce the shrinking, they fill the gaps. QuickFair fills perfectly and does not shrink. Same for the primer but I would go as far as possible with QuickFair.
It may cost a few $ but you'll save a lot of sanding time and sanding discs.