Wanting to get the hatches secured through the coming weekend, I worked this evening on getting the seat hatches, and the companionway hatch as well, ready for paint. In the previous work I had sheathed the underside plywood stiffeners with 1708 biaxial cloth, though too thick to take the tight radius of the transition to the sides of the plywood. So as can be seen below, I left the 1708 biaxial to run out over the sides and cure. Tonight, with the fiberglass fully cured, I water-washed the amine blush from the cured glass and then sanded the surfaces to prepare for additional work. I also removed the 1708 biaxial cloth that ran over the edge, sanded back to smooth and fair surfaces and then readied the substrate for the planned 6oz cloth to seal the edges.

With the plywood and surrounding areas prepped, I grabbed some 6oz cloth from storage and cut to the width and lengths needed. Next, I acetone-wiped the surfaces to remove all contaminants and then mixed some epoxy. My first, small batch of epoxy was thickened with colloidal silica and applied to any of the voids that presented so the 6oz glass would wrap securely around the areas that required coverage. I then mixed another small pot of epoxy to wet the surfaces to be glassed, and then applied the strips of 6oz fiberglass. With a foam brush, I dapped the glass to wet out and cleaned the overage as I went. I will need to come back and remove the glass not required to be wet out with epoxy, and generally sand the surface in prep for paint.

After setting the cockpit seat hatches to the side to cure, I turned to cutting more mahogany bungs for the remaining bung work to be completed - roughly 25 to 30 to be installed.

Total Hrs: 1.75