|
|
|
Hull Preservation and Blister Repair
 One
of the key factors in preventing blisters and their reoccurrence after a blister
repair job is the ability to keep the hull interior dry. A dry, well ventilated
interior will help prevent fiberglass hull blister reoccurrence after blister
repair.
- All standing water should be removed
from the boat.
- Install a dehydrator and drain through a
thru-hull in the boat.
- Remove personal gear from lockers,
spares, etc. that would inhibit ventilation and drying.
- Install a large fan or fans to circulate
air through the boat.
- Install blowers to ventilate the bilge.
- Repair all known sources of water
incursion.
- Peel the hull with a gelcoat peeler. We
usually peel to the waterline or lower edge of the boot stripe but
sometimes we must peel away the boot stripe and on rare occasions even
higher.
- Take moisture readings and mark on the
hull. Take topside readings as a benchmark.
- Pressure steam the bottom to remove
surface residue.
- This is a good time for a thorough
inspection of the surface lamination looking for deep blistering and
dry laminate which will have to be removed as well as any old repairs.
- After additional surface grinding and/or
additional peeling is finished, the boat is ready for the Hot
Vac Hull Cure process.
- When the hull is dried and cured to its
lowest relative moisture level, the hull is cleaned, sanded, and
prepared for the saturating epoxy coat. We use Interlux Epiglass
resin.
- Now we apply the epoxy resin to saturate
and seal the fiberglass resin.
- When the epoxy has cured, it will be
sanded, imperfections filled, and the hull faired.
- Now we apply the Interlux 2000E barrier
coat to a 20 mil thickness - usually about 9 coats.
- The last coat of barrier coat will have
the first coat of bottom paint applied during a specified window of
time to chemically bond it to the hull and provide a tracer coat to
protect the barrier coat.
- Two more coats of a contrasting color
are recommended at this point. Our recommendation for top performance
is Interlux Micron 66.
|
