I'm ready to do the fill coat on my Murrelet. Pygmy says not to squeegee fill coats. What is the reason? Seems counterintuitive to me because instinct tells me that I would want to get excess epoxy off of the high points of the weave while letting it fill in the low points.

Thoughts?

Jenn

Every builder has their own work method. If this great BB has taught me anything it is EVERY BUILDER does their own thing, whether they have a good instruction source or not. Why? Because the real world variables are without limit, and it's these real world variables we must all deal with. Once we figure out our local variables we think we have solved all problems. Problem is, the variables are different for each of us. The builders on this BB are circling the globe, so the variables are endless.

Go to a lumber yard to buy a 8" wide, 3/4" thick 18' western red cedar board and guess what? They don't have that size! They may not have that kind of wood. So, you must look at what you need and figure out how to fit what is available into your project.

Same with epoxy. You go to the store and they don't have this brand, but they do have that brand, so you buy it, not knowing how different it's working properties may be from the brand your instruction book suggests, if it suggests any brand at all.

EVERY material has unique properties, just as all of the builders around the world have unique experience.

So, how do you deal with the endless variables you run into?

You have to understand the idea of what you are trying to accomplish, the theory behind the task.

Strip building relies on the theory, a clear, straight grained, thin strip of wood, will create a perfect fair curve when bent.

The the theory for fill coats in strip building, is to bury the weave of the fiberglass cloth in a number of coats of epoxy thick enough, to sand to a smooth surface later, without cutting into the fiberglass.

So, applying a fill coat and squeegeeing off the surface may produce a smoother surface than if you leave the epoxy to its own devices, but it will remove most of the fill coat. If you apply all the fill coats and squeegee off the surface there will be very little epoxy covering the fiberglass, and sanding will cut into the glass quickly. The idea is to build layers of epoxy to a enough thickness, to smooth the epoxy by sanding surface without cutting the glass. Squeegeeing the fill coat may defeat the purpose of the fill coats.

We all think our solutions, our take on the dealing with variables, are terrific, but the underlying idea/theory may be lost when we explain our solution to someone else. Many instruction books explain what to do, not why to do it, so the variables we all run into can make the outcome different than expected. If the instructions don't explain the theory, the goal, of the task, then other methods my seem just as valid.

The question to ask is, "What's the theory behind this task, What's my goal?"

You will be better able to deal with the variables you will inevitably run into, if you stop and think about the idea, the theory behind what you're trying to do. Let the theory guide your choices of the variables and the methods you use.

I hope this helps!

All the best,
Rob