: I just finished glassing the hull of my current strip project and I find
: several dark stripes left over from my use of the fairing board. I knew
: there was a potential issue because you could see the scrapes from the
: course sandpaper after the fairing. I followed up with an orbital sander
: to remove these scratches. I was certain I had gotten down past the
: scrapes but low and behold there are still some blems that are quite
: visible under the glass. Up till that moment I thought I was building a
: showpiece. Now I’m disappointed in the final result of the deck because of
: these sanding marks.

: My question here is how do you know when you have completely eliminated a
: sanding mark. I looked close after using the orbital and couldn’t see any
: marks but apparently they were hiding. Is there a secret method that makes
: these blemishes show up before they get immortalized under glass?

: I would appreciate any help on this for use on any future projects.

: Thanks,
: Kyle T

Hi Kyle

Wetting down with water will raise grain for final sanding as well as clue you in to rough looking spots.
Dont' be too heavy handed with the fairing board. In fact, if you layup carefully and clamp between stations there should be virtually no fairing necessary other than knocking off the corners. Reduce paper coarseness incrementally (ie. 60 to 80 to 100 to 120 etc). Don't try going from 60 grit to 180. It won't work well. For fairing some diagonal sanding is necessary but finishing off sanding with the grain reduces visible scratches.

Finally, Consider that the boat is to be used and enjoyed on the water. Someone said to me on seing a just completed boat "It seem a crime to put it in the water" I replied "It would be a crime not to" The point I am making is that in time every boat will get some battering. The more you like it the more you use it and the more battered it gets. Don't break your heart over the odd blemish. You probably notice faults that others do not. If you are not a commercial builder just enjoy the boat, move on to the next build, and enjoy the process of improving on the finish every time.

Et