Best way to remove epoxy squeeze out from lap joints?

[dmede]

I'm building a glued lap canoe and am getting close to hanging the last planks which means it's time to start thinking about cleaning up all the mistakes I've made along the way. Most of the lap joints have at least some epoxy squeeze out that is rounding the line of the lap a bit, some of them have lots of epoxy sorta just gooped in there (the early planks). My question is whats the best way to clean that up in order to prepare for final epoxy coating and then painting?

It's too much to sand in most cases and would probably result in my sanding down the adjacent wood too much.

I though a paint scraper or small cabinet scraper might work?

What about applying heat (hair dryer) to soften it up? Would I risk softening the laps too?

Thanks for the help,
Dave

[George Roberts]

The best way WAS to do it while the epoxy was soft.

For a sharp corner. I usually take a putty knife and scrape off what I can as soon as the squeeze out starts and then I use a paper towel wrapped around a stick to tidy up well.

For a fillet. A squeege with a radius sanded on the corner is a good tool.

Since it is hard, I would fill all of the seams with epoxy.

It is very hard to remove hard epoxy without damaging the softer wood.

[Wild Wassa]

Cleaning up as one goes, is the best way with epoxy, as suggested by George.

When the epoxy has hardened, it is a bother. For the drips, I use a soldering iron, a couple of light touches, and a sharp chisel. Shave up the ramp not into a step, the epoxy is brittle, if you're too aggressive.

A hair dryer can work well, no real heat, just a bit of warm warmth.

If you are cutting the wood faster than the offending epoxy, try using a circular motion when sanding. Wrap the sand paper around a small block of wood, so that you can see both the wood and offending epoxy, as you sand. Good luck.

Warren.

[ 09-12-2003, 02:37 PM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[dmede]

Yeah, hind site and all that. Actually only the first couple planks didn't get wiped at all (they're the worst). The later planks all got cleaned up as much as possible but once the lap clamps get put on it squeezes more out and it's real hard to get in between them (spaced about one very 2"). Were not talking a lot here, but their is a radius under each lap I'd like to clean out. Cleaning the undersides is much easier, just wipe out the excess when it drips through (this doesn't happen much since joints fit pretty well).

What about scrapers? Will they be effective on hard epoxy or just a waste of time?

[Wild Wassa]

dmede, scrapers are much under used. But again, use lightly and quickly. Possibly using the scraper after the bulk of the epoxy has been removed, with a chisel.

An old hacksaw blade, can make a good flexible scraper. Grind the blade to the shapes you need.

Warren.

[ 09-12-2003, 02:06 PM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[NormMessinger]

Wood is a pretty go insulator therefore a little heat applied to the hard epoxy that you want to remove will soften it enough to be paired off with gouge or scraped with a fillet shaped scraper.

[Mike Vogdes]

I use a large 2" razor sharp chisel. With a soft touch and a steady hand, it makes fast work of cleaning up runs and drips and cleaning up corners and grooves.

[Keith Wilson]

An electric heat gun (the kind used for stripping paint), and a scraper is absolutely the way to go. A hairdryer might work; I've never tried it. One doesn't have to soften the epoxy much, just enough to get it rubbery, and it comes right off without damging the underlying wood. Wood is a good enough insulator that the joint itself doesn't get hot enough to weaken it unless you really go nuts with the heat gun. In fact, according the the folks at System Three, a bit of heat will promote complete curing and probably strengthen the joint.

I've done four glued lapstrake boats now, two cradle boats and two full-size. This technique turns a really awful job into something almost pleasant. It's by far the best way to remove epoxy drips. In fact, I have mostly stopped wiping up as I go, since it's easier to do with heat once it's cured.

[ 09-12-2003, 02:22 PM: Message edited by: Keith Wilson ]

[Nicholas Carey]

Originally posted by dmede:
What about scrapers? Will they be effective on hard epoxy or just a waste of time?Actually, card scrapers (cabinet scrapers, not paint scrapers) work really well. Sharpen it well— Ralph Brendler (http://www.brendlers.net/oldtools/) has written a fine Tome o'Scraper Lore (http://www.brendlers.net/oldtools/scraping/scraper.htm) that will tell you more than you want to know about choosing, sharpening and using scrapers.

Broken window glass actually works quite well too. It was commonly used to smooth wood pre-sandpaper. Just find (or break) a piece with an apropriately shaped edge. And obviously, tape all the edges but the working edge before using it.