Fairing Fill-It.

[Wild Wassa]

Scott R, Thankyou for suggesting I fair 'Fill-It' after 24 hours of curing, ... I was going to wait about a week, :eek: .

Thankyou for volunteering this most valuable information. My Family thanks you as well.

Warren.

[Scott Rosen]

You're welcome. smile.gif

I learned that lesson the hard way.

I had a couple of plywood areas that were real trouble spots--lots of sun, movement, temperature changes, etc.

I stripped it to bare wood, saturated with two or three applications of CPES, then faired it with a mixture of Fill-It thinned with Smith's Layup and Laminating Epoxy. After a lot of sanding (I waited over a week to sand--Ugh), I painted with Sterling LPU. Wow! It's bullet proof.

[Wild Wassa]

I've resorted to mixing Fill-It with a fork, as though I'm mashing spuds. The only way I can deal with it's firmness, :eek: . Is it always this firm? The violet paste I found about half the firmness of the white. The white is as firm as a stiffish putty. Also is Fill-It's firmness, temperature dependent? I'm operating in temperatures of between 10-14C (52-60F) and dropping to 4-8C in a week or two. I wouldn't like to see Fill-It firmer for mixing nor do I want to heat it up (unless this is advised). I don't have thinners for Fill-it, (I don't think or could a drop of any epoxy do?).

When Smith and Co, advise that Fill-It doesn't slump, they weren't joking. I replaced a rectangular section of rail, 3x3x10cm in one go without supporting the Fill-It, and it didn't slump. I stuck some polyethelene film over it, just so that I'd felt as though I'd contributed.

I mix 80 mls (a+b by volume) and when I've held a white reference card against it, it is still a cold white after curing for a few days. Smith and Co advise that the Fill-it when cured is a very pale pink. When can I expect to see the pale pink? I mixed the Fill-It correctly. I was hoping to photograph the difference between epoxy with glass macros and the Fill-It, to show the colour difference, so far they are the same colour.

I still have to drive screws and square copper nails into the Fill-It, this will be interesting.

Thanks again,

Warren.

ps, Using Fill-It builds muscles, and unlike Uri Geller, ... it can bend forks.

[ 05-24-2003, 05:49 PM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[Scott Rosen]

A fork!! What a great idea. smile.gif I've tried mixing with a screwdriver and a stiff putty knife. It works, but my forearm muscles are getting pretty big.

Luckily, the Fill-It is not too sensitive to mixing. In other words, I don't think you need to be as concerned with getting a thorough mix as you would with epoxy glue.

As far as color--I think the cured Fill-It looks slightly off white, not pink. It will take screws and fasteners very well. Drill a pilot hole just a hair narrower than the root diameter.

[Wild Wassa]

Scott, A quality fork Sir. I did mix it well. The tools cleaned up well using white vinegar.

Concerning the pilot holes, the surface is now so hard, without the pilot hole, I'd hit a copper nail, and end up with a penny. I've got the feeling that if I don't have a pilot hole BIG ENOUGH for the screws, I'll hear a slowly tortured ice fracture, and end up with a slab avalanch. Fill-It is so hard, I bipolar fractured my thumb, doing a simple finger nail test, :rolleyes: .

I faired the recent Fill-it with a chisel after 21 hours, that worked well.

Thanks for the colour advice, as well. I'll look for a warm off white.

Warren.

ps, BoatCraft Pacific's compression strength filler is a superslumper, it is added to the epoxy. That's been my standard. It's good to use both now, their differences will save a lot of time and fill a gap.

[ 05-24-2003, 08:54 PM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[Johannah]

Scott R, where do you buy Fill-it? The price varies wildly, leading me to wonder if this product has different forms.

[Scott Rosen]

Call Smith & Company directly. They'll tell you where you can get it.

web page (http://www.smithandcompany.org/)

[Wild Wassa]

In Oz, both Fill-It and CPES are distributed by Timbertech Trading, North Rocks, NSW. Email: timbertechtrading@aol.com

Warren.