went 220-320-400-600-surfluster polish-Mcguires auto polish. Less than stellar results. Should I take it down to 1200?
If poly gloss coat polishes to a “10” I’d give epoxy a “4”.
Thanks
i hotcoat & gloss w/ RR 2020 and take it down to 1000, and then use Maguire’s 3-step polish…comes out pretty good.
150, 220, 400 with power, then 600 & 1000, wet, by hand. Then Turtle wax polishing compound with a buffer & buff it off with lambswool…
You know, 2020 may polish better. This is something I haven’t worked on, we don’t usually polish. Anyone with feedback on this?
If you don’t polish what do you do? Use a final epoxy hotcoat and leave it? I did that but had to sand because of slight pinholes and stuck small insects! I did leave the deck with no sanding, though. I know if I just do it this way I have to have a really, really smooth surface to get that epoxy resin mirror look.
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You know, 2020 may polish better. This is something I haven’t worked on, we don’t usually polish. Anyone with feedback on this?
i’ve only used your epoxy with 2000 in the lam, then 2020 for hotcoat and gloss…and it’s always polished up quite nicely.
also, could i add something to the final gloss coat to thin it out and help it flow better? it seems that by the time i’m done brushing it out, it’s already started to thicken up a bit and doesn’t always want to lay itself flat. a little bit of denatured alcohol, perhaps???
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also, could i add something to the final gloss coat to thin it out and help it flow better? it seems that by the time i’m done brushing it out, it’s already started to thicken up a bit and doesn’t always want to lay itself flat. a little bit of denatured alcohol, perhaps???
hi brandon im thinking the same thing .use a thinned final coat and dont sand …does anyone use thinners on final coat so the resin levels better… the other thing i was thinking was a clear marine varnish ,i have used it on my boat and it goes on with a brush and levels really well… any ideas welcome please…
Paul
Denatured Alcohol or Xylene would work best. You can go to about 5%. We use a flat finish on almost all the boards we’ve done over the years. Just a flat water based acrylic spray. We still sell it out of the FL location. Anyone interested can call Sam at 321-779-2369.
i sometimes use System 3 clear Lpu… expensive but a great product… there were some threads about it a few months ago…
? how do you deal with the line from removing the tape if you don’t sand…
have a sanding prob. using epoxy (finaly!..great change from poly). using fiberglass hawai’i cleare epoxy with fast hardner for lam and sand.
with poly I am used to sanding 100-220-320 sometimes 400-600 and then polish.
I have found that epoxy seems to set up harder than poly and I have to start sanding at 80 or even 60!
should I just speed up the sander? does epoxy set up harder? am I totally losing it or what? 
I was thinking also for a better lay on the sand coat to really make sure that the lam coat is sanded as flat as pos w/out damaging the cloth.
thanx for any help…“swaylocks folks is the greatest”
cheers
Hey Oaktown. Yep, with epoxy its super critical to get every layer (including the foam/wood) as smooth as possible so the next layer goes down flat & smooth. Its better to go to heavier grit - 80 is good & 60 is not out of the question - then to speed up the sander. Sand too fast, and you can heat the resin so much it re-melts & gets goopy. You go through lots of sandpaper that way - trust me
I use 80 grit & keep the sander really moving. Don’t spend more than a couple ticks anywhere - go back to it if you have a bad spot. You can also skip some of the grits - go 80/150/220/400/600/1000, skipping 100 & 320. Works fine.
BTW, don’t be tempted to go the Future Floor Polish route. Turns milky with saltwater exposure & has to be sanded off and the you’re back to where you started anyway…ok for a white board I suppose, but made my first balsa look like a seagull sh!t on it.
here’s a crazy thought… Use poly to gloss it with.
Yeah, it works prettty good.
Drew
Howzit oaktown, Sometimes keeping your sander at a lower RPM works better since higher RPM's tend to have a polishing effect. Epoxy is always harder to sand. Some sanders refuse to work on them.Aloha,Kokua
benny1 and kokua…thanx for the word. I kindof figured E was diff than P.
I used to build and repair boats and used “old school” epoxy. took a couple weeks to cure and sanded like s#!t. just more to learn…aint life good,
M
Addtive F makes sanding epoxy much easier. In fact there’s very little difference between epoxy with Add F and polyester.
Kokua’s right about RPM’s. If you have an adjustable RPM try different speeds.
what exactly is add F? I use an additive that Fiberglass Hawai’i sells for sanding…smells a little like tolulene.
I have a festool multi speed/2 action. usualy keep it on rotate #3.
…and what kind of surfin is there in AZ?
M
thanks greg for your advice i will try this with the acrylic spray at the end
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what exactly is add F? I use an additive that Fiberglass Hawai'i sells for sanding..smells a little like tolulene.M
This made me laugh. Remember the line from the 80’s, “I don’t use cocaine, I just like the smell.”