Finish Work Is ALL About The Prep!

Finish Work Is ALL About The Prep!

Whether you’re facing a small or large project (maybe something in between) the general approach tends to be the same. 95% of your effort will be spent on repair and prep in anticipation of the remaining 5% which will be the finishing steps.

When we’re talking about boats the repair process almost always involves some type of fiberglass work, some fairing and a good physical workout 🙂 When focusing on the glasswork there are a number of resin options available with each of them having particular advantages; but at the end of the day what ultimately is most important is that the material you choose is of very high quality.

Cheap material is difficult to work with, often with very inconsistent results. These issues could be unpredictable working times with the resin, higher viscosity resin making it a real effort to work into the fiberglass, or simply inconsistent cures (or lack there-of). I can tell you first hand that having to go back and peel material off a project because it didn’t cure correctly is nothing short of defeating.

TotalBoat 2:1 High Performance Epoxy Kits

Whether it’s epoxy, polyester resin, fairing compound or any of the other products they offer, why do I always reach for TotalBoat? Well, that’s easy..

It always works exactly how it’s supposed to!!

There are certain situations where I’ll favor one product over another depending on the qualities I’m looking for. Need extended working times to complete a certain task? Epoxy based products are your friend. Working in hot or cool temps? The different options with epoxy hardeners can go a long way for stacking the cards in your favor.

What if you’re working on a fiberglass layup that’s going to take several days to complete? A laminating polyester resin can save you hours of sanding each day! The beauty of this material is that you can wet out your fiberglass and walk away for a day, few days or longer and pickup right where you left off without having to sand 😉

If for some reason you do need to do some shaping or grinding, simply go over the surface with some PVA or another poly based product that contains wax and that will cure things off for easy, clean sanding.

I started my channel Boatworks Today over 10 years ago with the goal of providing information, help and tips / tricks for the DIY boat owner to not only assist them with their own projects, but also to show the correct and safe way of doing things. In a Nut-Shell,

What Works, And What Doesn’t…

Start your project(s) off on the best foot possible by using material that has been both time and field tested. You’ll thank me later ;-)!

Check out their line of products HERE!