July 2018
Time to epoxy coat. I know this looks like a scene from 'Breaking Bad' but never take chances with nasty chemicals...
The forward deck has suffered from the crystallised epoxy but I had to give it a try. I had planned to caulk it then sand prior to varnishing.
But it looked awful so I ordered more epoxy and did it again.
Now it's time for caulking. For the
trial piece I used a 300ml tube of caulking but this is too expensive when you have to do a whole deck.
Sausages containing 600ml are much more cost effective. Although you do have to buy a sausage specific
caulking gun . There are a few
powered examples
which would certainly ease the task. I quite like this
model as it has a pressure gauge and regulator.
But common sense prevailed and I bought the £15 model from screwfix.
Now it looks fantastic.
I also took the opportunity to sand and re-coat the forward cockpit trays
Here's the Screwfix Caulking gun loaded with a 600ml sausage from UkSealants.
So simple. Load the sausage, put some knife slits in the nozzle end of the sausage. Screw on the nozzle. Start Caulking.
First thing I do is to mask the groove I want to caulk.
I found insulation tape to work well. The best is a stiff low tack tape. Plenty of choice on eBay.
Having said that I ran out of tape and used some 'blue' masking tape which also worked well as it' stronger than the white stuff
which was a disaster when I did the trial pieces.
Then I squeeze the Caulk into the groove to slightly overfill it. Then I use my putty knife to smooth it flat.
After 20 to 30 mins I remove the tape.
Here is the rear deck caulked and I'm in the process of removing the tape.
Here is the front deck having been caulked.
And now in close up.
So no sanding of the caulking is required, I just need to flat off the epoxy prior to varnishing.
Last months distraction, part 2.
Rope £12
Lamp £14 (B&Q)
Fitting £2
Flex £4.50