Fairing Compound

[kenfyoozed]

Can someone suggest a good epoxy fairing compound? I had been using SM fairing from US Composites that you mix with epoxy. I switched to Total Boat’s Total Fair. This stuff is super thick. Hard to spread out. It it was 15-20% thinner it would be better in my opinion. I do like that it dries quick. So I could get multiple coats on in a day if I wouldn’t have ran out. It took me almost 3 hrs to mix and spread a little over a gallon of this paste. It’s much thicker than what I was mixing myself with the SM fairing. Maybe I won’t need that many more coats with this stuff. But again looking for an epoxy fairing compound that is easy to mix, spread and sand. Not asking for much right?

[kenfyoozed]

This did sand easier. It gave a reduction of 20% in sanding time. I hope im done fairing soon

[LordElsinore]

I'm not an expert, but from what I've read all MacGregors were made with polyester resin rather than epoxy resin, and I believe that because of that, polyester resin rather than epoxy should be used for repairs. TotalBoat makes a polyester fairing compound: https://www.totalboat.com/product/polye ... -compound/

I've used it for some light repairs and it seemed ok

[kenfyoozed]

I chose epoxy due to its inherent greater strength over polyester since I could only access the outside of the hull joint. I did order a second gallon of Total fair and this consistency was somewhat thinner. It was a lot easier to scoop out and mix. Maybe it is just batch differences.

[NiceAft]

My understanding of a fairing compound is to even out uneven areas, fill valleys, level ridges. How does this apply to the hull joint Just asking for clarification. Maybe I just don't understand the challenge

[kenfyoozed]

My understanding of a fairing compound is to even out uneven areas, fill valleys, level ridges. How does this apply to the hull joint Just asking for clarification. Maybe I just don't understand the challenge

You are correct. After I bonded the joint i then fiberglassed over the joint with two layers of 1708 and epoxy. There areas where the new fiberglass stops creates a small step up( or down depending how you view it) between the new and original hull. These ares need to be faired. Also there are small body curves in this area. One right below the wide black stripe beneath the rail. I am fairing this as it didn't look good with the step of the new fiberglass. There is another right beneath the joint since the deck overlapped the hull to create the joint. This was faired before glassing over as well. Now its just the finishing touches which always the hardest.

[NiceAft]

My understanding of a fairing compound is to even out uneven areas, fill valleys, level ridges. How does this apply to the hull joint Just asking for clarification. Maybe I just don't understand the challenge

You are correct. After I bonded the joint i then fiberglassed over the joint with two layers of 1708 and epoxy. There areas where the new fiberglass stops creates a small step up( or down depending how you view it) between the new and original hull. These ares need to be faired. Also there are small body curves in this area. One right below the wide black stripe beneath the rail. I am fairing this as it didn't look good with the step of the new fiberglass. There is another right beneath the joint since the deck overlapped the hull to create the joint. This was faired before glassing over as well. Now its just the finishing touches which always the hardest.

Thanks for the very clear, precise response.