First, I mentioned my epoxy problem. Last Thursday evening I mixed up some epoxy and coated the entire deck of the boat. My plan was to let it dry overnight, sand and apply the second coat over the weekend. Well, things did not work out as planned. THE EPOXY NEVER DRIED. I realized that I made a huge error in the mix. There are two pumps, one for the hardener and one for the resin. My pumps were old and sticking so in the middle of mixing I changed one of the pumps ( looking back, should have changed both pumps) and the mix never received enough hardener.
I talked to the epoxy manufacture last week and they told me not to put a new mix of epoxy on top of epoxy that has not hardened. After spending three days using portable heaters to heat the room to 80 degrees and running a heat gun over the entire boat four times, I gave up. I hate to go backwards but that is what needs to be done. I spent all Sunday afternoon using a heat gun and spatula to strip the epoxy off the boat deck. What a job and what a mess. I was able to remove 80% and most has dried now but not all. I will call the manufacture again today and ask what my next move should be. I am hoping they can suggest a solvent to wipe the remaining epoxy.
OK, now for the Stainless Steel Trim.
A good friend and Squirt Boat Builder Art Atkinson came over on Saturday and gave me some good advice. We practiced and then made a few of the parts. His method for making the bends, hammering out the spear points, drilling the countersinking holes, and polishing stainless steel all proved to be great.
You can also see in the photo above the bad epoxy ( it was later removed).
The stainless steel trim fit very tight with little or no gaps.
I was really happy about the look of all the stainless steel trim. I did not want a joint at the bow of the boat so I made the bend using one piece. I think the Trim turned out very nice and professional.
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