More holes to fill in the cabin trunk

The application of a second coat of epoxy to the gallows wooden crosspiece began the day.

Two coats of epoxy on the gallows.

My plan is to build up three coats of West Systems Epoxy to seal the wood and then add 6 to 8 coats of Bristol Finish for the UV Protection.

Anne joined me for an afternoon of finding and grinding out small voids in the cabin trunk.  These voids, primarily found in the fiberglass layer below the gelcoat, date back to the original construction and are caused by a failure to completely fill the mold with epoxy.  Fast forward 47 years and these voids, the largest the size of a small pea, are causing the ordinal blue gelcoat layer and the paint applied in 1997 to crack. 

Anne uses an awl to identify in mark voids.  I used the grinder to open them up.

Today we expose the voids.  Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will fill the voids with thicken epoxy.

   
  
The number of voids we discovered was surprising, but better to fix them now than be forced to go in after our new paint has dried.  Fortunately the vast majority of the voids are on areas to which we plan to apply Kiwi Grip Non-Skid. This will make the task of fairing the area much easier.

More images from this project can be found in - Painting Cabin Trunk - Spring 2013

Hope the weather holds...