| Kaholee Refit | January
24, 2007 In what had become a daily routine, I began this morning with the usual washing and sanding of yesterday's fill and fairing patches. This time, however, represented the end of bulk fairing for most of the deck, other than the largest patches in the cockpit--the old cockpit locker openings and icebox hatch--which would require a bit more additional fairing compound. |
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To that end, when I had sanded the fairing compound from yesterday, I switched machines and sanded the entire coachroof, cabin trunk, and foredeck and sidedecks with a finishing sander, using first 80 grit paper then shifting to 120 grit. Thus began the process of fine-tuning the deck surfaces, and smoothing them gently towards final readiness for primer and paint. |
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For weeks, I had been studying the rounded molded toerail, trying to determine the best way to remove the paint from the rail. I had refrained from using my DA sander on the toerail, as it would have been far too easy to sand unwanted flats into the surface, and the shape of the rail was such that it resisted even attempts with the more cautious finishing sander, since the sides of the toerail were actually a bit hollow in profile. Eventually, I came to the realization--something I had, at some level, known all along--that I'd need to hand-sand the toerails in order to remove the paint. I geared up with my little foam sanding block and 80 grit paper, and removed the paint from the port toerail in a couple hours. Even the sanding block wouldn't reach all areas, including some of the hollow profile and the rounded cove at the junction between toerail and deck, so I sanded these areas with my fingertips. The paint removal revealed any number of previous repairs to the toerail, most of which appeared to be in sound condition. |
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I wrapped up the day's work late in the day with an additional coat of fairing compound on the old cockpit locker openings, and also on the icebox hatch opening, which now contained sufficient solid fiberglass to minimize the amount of fairing compound required. I expected this to be the final bulk coat of fairing required on the cockpit lockers, with one additional coat to be needed on the icebox hatch. Once bulk fairing is complete, I'll move onto spot filling with a finer fairing and finishing compound, as well as sealing all the faired areas with unthickened epoxy resin. |
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Total Time on This Job Today: 6.25 hours
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