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Fairings up side down?

1K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  Hudsonian 
#1 ·
Thanks to everyone who gave me advice on my tiller. Now I am looking at the ceiling inside my cabin witch had some rotten wood I cleaned out. Is there a trick to fairing up side down with out having it fall all over me?
 
#2 ·
Use a plastic panel or a waxed piece of thin plywood as a "mold" inside the cabin.
 
#5 ·
By varying the amount of thickening agent, cabosil among them, you can thicken or vary the viscosity of the epoxy or fairing compound. More thickening agent-higher the viscosity, less likely it is to drip or sag. However, using a plastic or waxed wood plate will lead to a much fairer surface than just slapping it on and letting it sit there... and will usually require less work to finish off.
 
#7 ·
I use cab-o-sil (fumed colloidal silica) anywhere that I don't want epoxy to run. You can mix it much thicker than other fillers without a loss of strength. It does not weaken the resin so it is extremely difficult to sand and fair but it is very easy to control so there is less fairing involved than with other fillers.

You can also mix in easily faired fillers to get both benefits.
 
#8 ·
Adding silica as SJ34 suggests is the ticket. The silica will add non sag/run properties to the epoxy bog. We will blend i part silica to 3 parts micro ballons to have non sag and easier sanding. Careful application will minimize the sanding required. It would be unlikely to get a fair surface with only one application of bog. Add bog sand and then add more bog to the low areas. Repeat as necessary to achieve the desired surface.
 
#9 ·
Thicken epoxy until it gets to a peanut butter consistancy. Then apply, smooth, let dry, and sand. I've used the silica and a fairing filler, the silica you don't want to sand. The other is hard to sand as well but not like concrete.
 
#10 ·
You can save a lot of time, sanding, and dust by using a surform tool to remove excess material from the proud areas when the epoxy, silica, filler mix is partially cured. When the putty is just cured enough that you can barely make a dent with your thumbnail, the surform will cut the excess cleanly. The Stanley Surform shaver, a $4.00 tool, works well on concave surfaces.
 
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