Well, there aren't any absolute answers. Some solutions are just better than others.
I like epoxy for injecting, flowing and uneven surfaces. It is much less viscous than most putties. It fills voids if you don't mix it too thick. Like many of us listers, the best technique is to coat the adhering surfaces with neat (unthickened) epoxy and then follow it with the thickened epoxy. Just last week I helped a boat owner fill a channel on his boat where the wood core had rotted out. We drilled a few holes on the top of the channel and injected thickened epoxy. We knew we had a good cavity fill when we saw the epoxy starting to show in the next hole in line. I use thickened epoxy for overbored deck penetrations through core. I usually coat the core with neat epoxy then inject thickened. I like thickened epoxy for creating radius fillet joints. Mix it to a mayonnaise consistency, slop it in the joint and shape it with the backside of a plastic spoon. I would also use it under the keel bolt washers or plates which started this whole discussion. I also use marine grade vinylester putty, a lot. Generally, I'm repairing shallow hull or deck damage where strength is not critical. There are two kinds, high strength and regular. The high strength is primarily know as a filler for blisters and shallow spots. The regular putty is used for fairing and smoothing and has little strength. Its primary advange is ease of sanding. I fill pinholes with marine grade glazing putty. Generally, I use vinylester under gelcoat. Vinylester putty doesn't flow well. Nor does it fill voids well. If the adhering surface is irregular, I try to sand or grind it to a flat or nearly flat surface prior to applying the putty. When I apply the putty, I am careful to apply it using strokes in several different directions. If you simply swipe it on in one direction, it tends to leave voids. I almost never use "kitty hair" vinylester products. I find they are hard to work with and leave lots of voids. Like Martin, I never use automotive grade products. When you use any of these products, you need to be mindful of getting a complete mixing of the product and activator while not creating a lot of bubbles in the mix. There are lots of little technique tips that you learn through experience. Dennis C. Touche' 35-1 #83 Mandevile, LA On Tue, Nov 24, 2015 at 12:36 PM, Ahmet via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > Not not hijack this tread, I changed the subject. Since we seem to have > epoxy experts here. > > I am trying to take out some slight unevenness from the bottom of my bilge > so that my keel bolt washers have an even contact. > Can I use some low viscosity epoxy, just pour it into the bilge, probably > dam of the area around the keel bolt with some tape, and let gravity do the > leveling. > We are talking maybe 1/4 in thickness at the highest point. > > I was originally thinking of using Marine-Tex but there are some areas > which are a bit awkward to get to. > > > The issue is that At 200 lbs-ft the clamping force is about 12,000 lbs. So > I need something that will not crumble under the pressure. > > So the problem is to be low viscosity yet high compression strength. > Thank you > Ahmet > C&C 25 > Boston, MA > >
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