Fairing the First Round of Filler

July 6, 2015

Having Alva Anne in the backyard makes it possible to grab an hour and a half on her as the mood strikes...it struck this evening.  The goal for the evening was to sand the the first round of fairing filler.  The fairing filler is West System epoxy thickened with micro balloons - an easy sanding filler used to fair surfaces as a general prep for painting.  The first order of business however was to water wash the cured epoxy in order to remove the amine blush.  A Scotch-Brite pad and water were the only tools required for this job, and I made my way around the boat in quick order. 

After I dried the surfaces, I grabbed the Porter Cable 5" random orbital sander and applied 80-grit paper.  Moving around the boat, from poop deck, cockpit, stern and rails, I took off the filler down to the fair with the surrounding surfaces.

Even though I took the filler down to fair with the adjacent surfaces, subsequent rounds would be required.  The photo below reveals low spots after I had passed the sander over this filled areas.  But I would apply this second round on another day.

The cockpit, showing the coamingboard and seat trim fastener holes filled and faired.  

Another shot of the cockpit, and the winch base fastener hole in the foreground.

In a couple of areas along the deck-to-hull joint the boat displayed more severe fiberglass damage, and required a bit more fill than the other areas.  This portion of the rail, along with a few other areas, will require an additional round, or two. 

Total Time: 1.5 Hrs.