Hi Andy, I have found that the best way to avoid having that stuff in the air is don't turn it into dust in the first place. To remove nonskid, rust on steel and wood coatings use a paintshaver/marinshaver pro. It vacuums as it cuts and the pieces are big enough to not become airborne. It uses replaceable carbide inserts and is similar to a facemill in a machine shop. The second tool I use is a gelcoat peeler that was made by Gelcoat Removal Systems who is no longer in business. My shop may start actually producing these if there is a market but I can tell you that the shavings are very easy to control and the peeler can be used to remove material surgically. The other tool I use are carbide cutting dies used in an air driven die grinder. Very small and precise tool. The dies can be bought in hundreds of styles and are extremely effective in removing fiberglass with the precision of a dentist. There are 2 types, one has a cross-hatched pattern used for ferrous materials and those plug up easily. The other has a unidirectional cutting pattern used for non-ferrous material and they make very short work of FG. I can remove a 1/32" inch line down a crack in seconds with NO damage to surrounding area. With larger dies I can trim and model a keel area or large damage very quickly as well as make tapers for patch areas. They will trim lead and a whole host of materials. The speed can be controlled by an inline air valve for perfect control. The chips again are big enough that they lay down and stay put. The carbide dies never seem to get dull and at roughly $15 to $25 each they are a true bargain. I will never sand FG again unless it's with a longboard. If you would like more input feel free to ask....you'll love this system. Cheers.......Greg
I saw a few youtube videos of this and tried it. I don't know if this will help you, but it helps me with drywall dust when cutting or sanding drywall. Get a large plastic sparklets water jug (maybe 5 or 10 gallons?) and cut the bottom off so it's like a huge funnel. Cut little half round or triangular notches all around the edge of the big open end. Looking down from above, cut two holes in the side to get your hands and forearms into the jug, at the 12 and 3 o' clock position. Put some duct tape or something around the inside edges of these two holes so the plastic won't cut your wrists or forearms. Attach your vacuum hose to the narrow neck of the bottle and turn on your shop vac. Put the bottle over your grinder or sander and reach in through the two holes you cut in the sides. As you work you will see air getting sucked in through the notches you cut in the base and carry away dust and debris to the top of the bottle where the vacuum hose is. You can modify this 10 different ways to suit your needs.
Bought one and it already paid for itself. Used it on our cockpit area. Got in places u couldn't otherwise. Made quick work of an otherwise long project. Used it to re-contour the base of the seats as well. Glass should lay in nicely..... after it stops raining an we getter dried out and prepared for that process. Thx for the great info!
An old construction trick with fiberglass ichy-es is to cover yourself (skin) with baby powder and I mean cover yourself! The powder keeps the fiberglass from sticking to your skin and it works great. Also, you have clothes you use to work in fiberglass, and when not in use they go in a bag. Do not wash these clothes in your washing machine with out running the WM empty with soap to remove any residual fibers left behind. also, only wash your fiberglass work clothes alone in the WM. Remember lots and lots of baby powder.
Great recommendation! I couldn't justify the price on the Makita (though it was tempting) so I went with a smaller import and a couple packs of 40 grit belts. I ground out to glass over the original bilge drain hole in my transom today and I am in love with it for all the patchwork I need to do on my restoration project. Even though I'm working outdoors dealing with controllable dust for the smaller scale grinding is going to be freaking awesome. Thank you for all the knowledge you share!
Take a look at the festool grinders and dust collectors. I have been useing one for 5 years and there is almost no clean up. Festool catches about 98.5 % of all sanding /grinding dust.
That does it! I've watched too many of your videos, found them too useful, and am applying too many of your suggestions to my boat projects. I can't keep watching without guilt - as soon as this video finishes playing I'm going to start supporting you on Patreon. I love your videos - keep up the great work. I have a ton of fairing, glassing, and teak refurbishing to do this year, so I'll be watching lots of your videos again. ;-))
Great information. I too am a fiberglass tech. Our shop has large fans in the back wall, and we have fans in the front. When I grind, it's like a wind tunnel, and the dust pulls to the rear of the shop. Your vacuum idea works well too. That's my go to, if I have to do quick repairs in our rigging shop.
Good tip! I used a 1/2 inch belt sander from Harbor Freight to grind a bevel to repair a Laser dinghy cockpit floor. An angle grinder gives you great control over the depth and slope of the bevel, but the belt sander was handy to get so close to an inside corner.
The Makita 3/4 inch x 10 ft vacuum hose’s (Part number 192108-A) suction end slides right into the dust extraction port without any issue with the spring loaded cap. The other end will take the RIDGID 1 1/4 vacuum adapter. Mind you Makita told me they didn’t know what hose of theirs or anyone else’s would fit. But another owner told me that the ID of the extraction port was around 3/4 inch and another non-Makita source told me that the OD of the suction end of the hose was 3/4. So I put two and two together and fortunately two and two did go together with a perfect fit! Dust extraction is very important for all my sanding tools since I’m restoring a fiberglass sailboat. Nice vid by the way-
I've seen those tiny belt sanders for years and thought, "why would you need that??" After dust bombing my boat replacing thruhull backing plates... I found this video and thought, I'd give it a shot. It's turning into my most used tool. Thank you.
I've got the same sander and I have to say that it is a thing of beauty. This is how all power tools should be built. Still made in Japan, not china, and worth every penny.
I got a kick out of this video, much of what you found is what I discovered while pulling my Cheoy Lee apart, the deck on my 47 Pedrick is 1-1/2" total thickness, with a 1/4" thick fiberglass skin on either side with solid mahogany planking as a core, you could have the entire Riverdance Chorus dance on this deck and not have it deflect. I did have some moisture in it due to the 3000 holes from the old teak deck screw holes leaking into it but used an old trick I had used on other boats I've restored. Isopropyl Alcohol, also know as rubbing alcohol is hygroscopic, it's loves to combine with water and then makes it easier to evaporate. If you have moisture in your deck and little or no damage you can drill access holes into it, pour isopropyl alcohol into the deck , let it absorb then put a fan on it to help evaporation. I had a C&C 38 years ago, with a cored deck, there were some moisture issues around some of the deck fittings, I pulled the fittings, opened up the holes, poured in the alcohol then waited a day for it to absorb. Once I did this I put a spot lamp under the deck in that area and a fan on the deck and waited, two days later the deck tested totally dry. Routed out the core under the deck mount holes, filled with thickened epoxy then drilled new holes through the epoxy. I ended up dong this for all the deck mounting holes when I re-bedded all the deck hardware. Twelve years later, when I sold that boat the surveyor was pleasantly surprised at how dry the deck core was. Because of the care this boat received the entire boat structure was extremely dry, the first person to see it and have it surveyed bought it. If you want to dry the deck faster, you can pour the alcohol into the core, heat the underside with a lamp or a gentle heat source, make a manifold out of heavy plastic film, duct tape it to a vacuum fitting and put a shop vac to it. You want to make sure there's plenty of ventilation, the heat source just warms it, not heats it to a flammable point and your shop vac can run for extended periods. A cheap shop vac won't do it. When I did this I made a bleeder hole in the manifold so the air/alcohol mix couldn't reach a combustible point. Just sayin.
You have an excellent point. May I suggest something? If you can fabricate a hood and hook up a shop vac; you can filter the fiberglass particles but the risk may not be worth it. Also a paint room with an air filter is another solution. I cannot stand fiberglass due to the itchiness. Also, that is a very nice sloop!
Andy the small belt grinder does produce a radius that is very aesthetic. I have found way to completely keep FG dust out of the shop. Grind it outside!! Then rinse it off.
Great tip. The thing about using what a pro uses or their method is you know that they are doing it because it works or saves time or both. When the bottom line is your livelihood you don't mess around with something that doesn't work.
Much like using the small belt sander, Roloc discs both 2" and 3" driven with a variable speed right angle drill have worked very well for me for small jobs. Especially taping in new bulkheads, engine beds, etc. Easy to hold the vac behind as well. Very much appreciate your cleanliness! Can't say enough about how it can improve morale for everyone else in the shop!
I like your channel Andy. Ive been restoring a '70's fiberglass camper trailer and all the fiberglass episodes are really helpful. Keep up the great work.
About to start repairing my Grady White 255 Sailfish and this video has me rethinking my grinding cut-out approach for gaining access to my stringer scab-in under the fresh water coffin. I am working outdoors and was entirely about to start using my grinder with that same paddle but maybe not after watching this video... thanks a ton! Epic timing for me! LoL
I have had that Makita sander for over 25 years Great Tool. I wore out the small roller the rubber came off and its still going. I have to get a new roller LOL. Great videos BTW I loved the gel coat vid on west system very informative!
Another tip I have found to avoid some of the itching is cover your arms in talcum powder. Then use cold water to rinse your arms without rubbing. The talc helps to carry away the dust and keeps it out of your pores.
After watching your video, I went on the Home Depot web site to buy a belt sander. I found one for less than $40. It is a WEN and is variable speed 1/2" x 18" belt. Belts are about a buck a piece. I figure I can wear out a few of these and still be ahead of the game over buying a Makita for over $200.
Another one to try. Has similar speed to the grinder and dust control as your belt grinder.. is a air die grinder with a flap wheel in it. Super fast and the dust control is pretty controllable.
For large areas, such a bottom jobs I usually use an IR hook and loop DA sander with vacuum attachment hooked to a shop vac with a cyclone filter inline. It works great and my tyvec suit is still clean.
BoatworksToday Forgot to mention to the DIY crowd, if you're sanding cuprous oxide bottom paint make sure to wear a good well fitting respirator because inhaling it is very dangerous and you will get heavy metal poisoning very quickly. It is very important to collect as much of the stuff as possible. It is very toxic, hazardous, very bad stuff if not handled properly.
can't believe you have found exactly the same tool as me for doing the same job and for the same reasons. these are life savers, no more horrid air born dusts. not as fast but if you add clean up times, it's probably as fast in the long run, however the dust attachment is of no use to me as it won't fit any of my hoovers.
I've used the pneumatic version in the past, and it was always referred to as a "dynafile". Good for eliminating high spots in tubing and other round parts...
A wet grinder solves the itchy problem completely but may cause addition problems in some situations. The 4" wet grinder I have was originally built for surfacing concrete.
Thank you so much Andy for your videos, I have recently bought my first boat which needs lots of work. Thanks to your expertise, I am doing jobs I never thought I would do. If ever you come to Australia (Western Australia), I would be extremely happy to buy you a drink mate. Thank you!.
Great suggestion thanks. I've been using a massive 4 inch Makita belt sander for larger areas and while it's well built and powerful it's too hard to control for fine work and way too heavy. Going to check out that little gem!
This was very helpful, thank you. More than helpful for the itch side of the problem - talcum powder! I don't know how it works (blocks the pores?) but applied before the job (especially between the fingers and on inner arms, and around my waist) it is EXTREMELY effective at preventing itch. In fact it renders me immune to the point where I don't feel the need to use gloves at all. I keep an open bucket of talc around the shop to dip into easily but it is best to avoid breathing it in of course.
Nice,,, I've been useing small drum Sanders on my drill for 20 years pretty much same principal,, but I have options of many different size drum's and cheap..
As an amateur who is nonetheless pro level after 45 years and over 220 feet waterlines of boats, I just don't grind glass. period. There are lots of other things you can do. In production it keeps jobs moving. Not be cause it is faster, it has to do with drying intervals. I build at home, so I don't have to worry about cycles, so it works out great for me. Saves me work and a lot of toxics in the environment. That environment is where I, my kids, and neighbours live.
What's the dust extraction you use with this and what do you recommend on smaller home repairs? Wet/Dry Filtered As a lot of sanders and saws have perversion to use extraction what do you recommend with fiber glass? Maybe a vid on collection and disposal of waste as a part 2? Could help with ppl even in boat yards (or close neighbours) where drifting outdoor glass fibers might be issues. So far ive been lucky and did an old chip repair on a farm in the open air and recently just wet sanded the last project. Great vid series , thanks heaps
Nice video, this Makita sander has a built in dust extraction port. Get a fitting from your Makita dealer which will directly connect it to your shop vac. Then its a one handed job 😎😎😎
Never under any circumstances think that if you can't see it that it can't hurt you regarding fiberglass dust. While I understand your reason to use the belt sander over the angle grinder regarding dust and clean up but there still are particles floating in the air. I have worked with fiber glass and resin for over 35 years, was trained by 3M to fit respirators and test for leakage. Part of the training revealed it wasn't the particles you see that are bad for your health but the particles you cannot see. Those are the ones that can get lodged into your lungs and never leave potentially causing mesothelioma or worse cancer.
I understand what you are saying and all I can say is, there is no clean way to grind fiberglass...period! If there was, everybody would be using it. So I just cover up with a coverall suit with gloves and face mask/respirator and just do it. It is everybody's hated job, but it has to be done. JMHO
Love your videos. Just for general information if you add a vac dapter sold for the grinder you wont jave any dust even better you can make your own from scrap of paint buckets...look in too it...we do lots of concrete and have our home made dust collectors...like your videos keep the f Good work !
For a week I have been sanding a 14 ft. Fiberglass hull removing bottom paint and scratches in the gelcoat. Dust is everywhere. I use my air compressor to blow the garage out. After it settles I sweep the floor and then blow again. I repeat the process over and over blowing everything in the garage as dust settles everywhere. It sucks.
I had the same problem here! For my budget, I find the Black & Decker Powerfile Precision Belt Sander (CYPF260) around 45$. Less powerfull and smaller than the Makita but do the job ;)
Oh hei it's one of my fav dustless tools also! Best tool for creeping into small places and for making some surgical or dustless grinding. They also have the 10mm one, but the belt is prone to derailing. If you don't mind I'd like to write a little review of it I have found so far for fellow itching folks around here: The tool also isn't that powerful so if worst would happen.. - there wouldn't be any worse happening as I have even stopped it with my shirt by accident and all I got was little nick. It has a dead man's switch which is very comfortable as it's easier to grip it and apply downward force by the motor housing. I even once velcro-strapped the trigger-handle onto my wrist and grabbed it be the motor housing, but because of two point support of the tool ( wrist and fist) it was way easier to grind for hours not getting sore. I haven't found the handle to be much of a tool - it also get's on the way of reaching into corners many times so It's better to take it off. The handle attachment nut is on the other hand very good gripping point. The unshielded/ unshielded) rear rotor bearing can come right full of brush and dust matter so you need to wash it down time to time. Very easy to get to tho The latest and bestest 'dustless' technology will work in both directions depending how you hold the tool. I use old 5 litre plastic canisters that I cut half and attach a vacuum hose to the cork hole. You can shape the canister as you like and not be careful of running the belt right across the edges of it as probably everyone have them in like piles laying around anyways. It's easy to fabricobble supports for the canister or hold it by for knee of something, especially if you're grinding something tight like a bilge area or some little compartment Buy it for life tool I would say!
i just wanted to thank you for your educational and instructional videos. i have learned a ton just watching you. i like how you explain "why and how" things work the way that they do.
suggestion: current version of makita stripsander has a dustcollector on which you can fit a hose of a vacuumcleaner. i am using karcher vacuumcleaner wet/dry. it comes with thin hose which fits these devices. you can connect the sander to an outlet on the vacuum. the vacuum cleaner then senses that you switch on,off the sander and switches the vacuum accordingly. this is more ergonomic than holding the tube yourself. the vacuum is about $150. but you can use it for all your tools saws sanders. but also to clean wet floor
Andy, I'm plugging a hole where I took out an I/O merc. And an going to replace it with an O/B on an Anderson extension. What type of Plywood should I use to plug the hole? Interior or exterior? The boat is a 1977 23ft Seaway and the transom is Plywood and FG. The Transom is in fine shape, no rot. I'll hop on the patreon when I start catching some lobsters. Thank you, John.
Have you tried an electric hand planer with a vacuum attachment to do your bevels? I know they are designed for wood, but I think they would have no problem with fiberglass if you don't take off too much in 1 pass. It may be a lot quicker and just as clean as the belt sander....? You would have to periodically sharpen the blade, but no need to purchase belts.
Some advice, protect your hearing by using ear plugs. Years of working with power tools without ear protection has left me with a major hearing loss. Thanks for the informative videos.
In trade school I was taught that even though a given power tool may not sound very loud, there are high frequency sounds that will make havoc on your inner ear. I’m glad they told me that, as I refuse to use anything other than a cordless drill without hearing protection. 20 years in and I still have the hearing of an owl.
I have viewed a few of your Videos. The way you present things in a simple to follow format is great. As are you examples and samples of real life tests. You tell it not from a marketing perspective but real life experience. When my boat is finally on it's way the beers are on me... cheers mate
It don't bother me at all for the itch what bothers me more is grinding metal I really get itchy from that...but great video of his the dust gets everywhere ... Those little voids under the gel coat is that not called omasios ? Or something like that where the gel is seperation from fiberglass . . And would that be from water getting underneath the two and casing it to bubble ...I noticed that under the water line and bottom of boats a lot... I worked in a autonomy shop that did boat repairs as well fixing the hull and transum of boats watching your videos brings back memories taking the boats off trailers and putting them on the stands was the scarry part of the job and hopping the floor was not rotten so the stands would hold even the eye in the front was strong enough for the stand to hold that area to remove the trailer from underneath for we can get underneath and do the repairs where the fiberglass was damage from hitting rocks is just smashing the waves and getting stress cracks from time and time again from being a poor quality boat and people think that got a boat and they can go out for a joy ride and beat the crap out of it. I miss that work there was good money repairing them compaired to working in cars no one wanted to work on the fiberglass boats what we came up with for our shop was a raped off room with a old furnace fan and made up like a spray booth with high quality furnace filters that recirculation of the air going through a 1 foot diameter flexible tube that we put where we were working to blow the dust away from us and towards the wall of filters the wall was 6 foot square and worked great we had to bring lighting in to see under the boats etc. We'd clean the wash them even painted the bottoms and applied anti fouling agent's the copper colored stuff that changed color in water. Thanks for the video and the memory's to bad the kid destroyed the business that his father worked so hard to build a name even restoration of cars pulling body's off frames and sending them out for acid dipping etc. or however the client wanted it restored epoxy primer one the car was stripped then the bodywork ..
It looks like there a vacuum hose attachment on the cord end, and if so, does it not capture the dust as well as the technique you demonstrated (handheld hose closer to the sanded area)? Looks like a nice tool to have in your shop...much more practical than the stationary style...and you could always devise a mount & table setup to hold it! Thanks for the tip!
awesome tip,,,,,,,i bought a little harbor freight air belt .........and love it for small tight crannies,,,,,,i want one of these now.....rather .GOT TO HAVE ONE OF THESE!
Have you seen the vacuum dust shroud they make for grinders? I know there is one that fits Dewalt. I saw them for multiple brands, may be another option to allow use of a grinder indoors. Thanks for the great videos and tips. Great work as usual.
I just started doing some hatch repair on my 1985 315 Chris Craft Commander. Last year when I was installing a new pulpit on my 25' Chris Craft Catalina Sportsman, I had purchased a Rockwell Sonicrafter tool. It has mutiple heads or I should say attachments, and the sanding mess is even less than your narrow belt sander. Fein, Porter Cable, Rockwell, Dremel, and Dewalt all have a version. If you have a way, I'd like to share some pictures and maybe I can make a small video to share with you. It has cut down on time, as well as mess...thank you for your videos.
My garage this winter looks white unfortunately for using flap wheel on my dewalt. Quick work, even faster mess. I hand the vaccum in the room to get as much as possible, but barely makes a debt in the mess. Its going to take a lot of compressed air with the doors open, and a respirator, to get it cleaned up as soon as the weather breaks. Good tip, I havent picked one of those hand sanders, still not sure I can justify with bench mount belt sander, bench grinder, palm sanders ect. If I had one around, I would give that a go.
Hi, I need to retrieve the hull ID number from the small faded metal plate in the transom of my 1978 montgomery 10. Any idea how or who can help me with doing this? Great video. Thanks for sharing.
DeWalt's come out with dust collection hoods with universal vacuum attachments - DEWALT DWE46170 7-Inch Surface Grinding Dust Shroud - it would be neat if they'd give you one, and you could test it out on video.
Hi! First of all, congrats for your videos and good job! I have a question about the best way to remove epoxy primer. I have antifouling paint on top of epoxy premier on top of gelcoat. Now, I need to remove the paint and the epoxy primer and leave the gelcoat exposed to the air. Do you have a tip or suggestion on how to remove it without sand blasting and damaging the gelcoat underneath the epoxy primer? Thanks a lot!
I bought that belt sander after finding your channel years back - do you ever have issues with it slowing down? I attached a dust hose to the fitting on its back but think your method of holding the vacuum hose closer to the head of the sander catches way more dust.
Bought that little guy last year -- I think I noticed it in one of your videos. Super useful, but I think their built in dust port needs a redesign. It's too far away from the contact area for the vacuum to really pick most of it up and you have to hold the hose behind it like you're doing. Have you tried the Festool RAS? It works like a well behaved grinder / rotary sander with dust collection that gets about 80% of the mess. Faster removal rate than their Rotex but not as smooth of a finish.
Build or install an air filter... you can't "see" the other dust... I built mine so it will clean the air to 1 micron... even wood dust is just as bad as fiberglass to breathe. I mainly do wood and metal working and I just bought a rfp box truck that has some issues, that will eventually be a steath camper with a 12x8 workshop in the back, so I'm here getting some tips on fixing the side wall that was previously fixed by who ever owned it before incorrectly and failed. I figure if I fix it to a boat standards then it won't fail like the previous attempt. It was a big hole... if it wasn't so high up I would have guessed a car drove though it... When I bought it didn't see any problem other than a small slice in the side... the truck had been wrapped 3 times and when I got to the orginal box siding, is when I saw what had happened. Sections of fiberglass repair and orginal panel started coming off with the wrap.
Great video(s) I'm subscribing. Also wondering why you don't simply attach the hose to the tool? I'm assuming that it's because you are only using the tip of the tool, not the entire flat surface.
The videos are sped up, I think he's using so slowly that the dust doesn't get to the dust port, which is more for high-speed sanding. Hes has taken the door off the dust port though, so I guess he also uses a shop-vac too sometimes
Dought you read these any more, but maybe someone out there that’s got more experience than I do!! I hv a problem with my fiberglass popping up once I try to lay it down. Ok so I hv a 12” x 10” piece of HD cardboard I hv already painted to with resin w/ hard er in it. Making a slotted type box to side my clear tackle boxes into so I don’t hv to carry boxes abs unlock etc. bolting it to inside of boat once done, made my angled mounts outta fiberglass very HD. But every time I lay glass down, on wet resin lay down my sheet I hv pre cut 1 1/2” bigger as so I can fold glass around to make the edges sturdy enough. But once I fold it over it eventually pops up or loose s up creating a air pocket along the edge, I oust it back down etc I used clear packing tape to try abs hold it down but just creates a freaking mess loosens up every thing, tried rubber bands but just makes multiple smaller air pockets. Re thought the process abs maybe I should just it the glass 1/4” smaller than the tray separator, get several layers on each side let cute,cure,then cut a piece 6” wide and ends are even with the sides that would give me 3” to fold over, surely that would hold, just try abs save my glass, money is tight but already wasted more than I needed to, anyone got any I put on this thanks please keep clean don’t need a bunch of smart comments already live with one smart you know what lol
May I ask, can you not obtain a sanding tool that includes a vacuum pick up, so you can use it one handed. I I use a DA with powerful intergrated vacuum this removes all the dust.
I have not finished my fiberglass lamination in one day so can continue working on it the next? Any prep? Or just continue Reith it...thanks..I'm new in fiberglass lamination...thanks
Thanks Andy. My boat neighbors would likely appreciate something quieter than a grinder too. I have one of these and never even thought about using it for this application. I will now. You may be getting another credit in an upcoming video ;). I am watching your deck project with a keen eye, we are both along this same deck repair trail.
Andy, quick question about sanding/grinding...I am about to fair (poly fairing compound) the deck of 20 year old skiboat. The original deck (fully synthetic...no wood) has the mat texture showing through. We have removed the old carpet and are going to fair and gelcoat so its smooth. I've watched a bunch of your videos. My question...how much do I need to sand/grind before starting the fairing? As long as I get the surface clean, the existing mat texture showing through the old glass will serve as a mechanical bond with the new poly fairing right? Or do I need to grind a ton first? Thanks in advance Andy!!
Thank you for sharing the tricks of the trade. I'm big fun of your work. Have you tried these 7-inch variable speed polishers? It's possible to get 7 inch hook and loop sand paper. With 7 inch of surface and speed control this does remove a lot of material quick. Also running it at lower speed reduces the mess, so there is very little dust in the air even without any dust extraction tricks. One more question, sorry. Have you tried "Dustie" on the grinder? like one '5" Universal Dustie' sold by globalindustrial? sorry for too many question. this is itchy business for me :)
Hi Andy,
I have found that the best way to avoid having that stuff in the air is don't turn it into dust in the first place.
To remove nonskid, rust on steel and wood coatings use a paintshaver/marinshaver pro. It vacuums as it cuts and the pieces are big enough to not become airborne. It uses replaceable carbide inserts and is similar to a facemill in a machine shop.
The second tool I use is a gelcoat peeler that was made by Gelcoat Removal Systems who is no longer in business. My shop may start actually producing these if there is a market but I can tell you that the shavings are very easy to control and the peeler can be used to remove material surgically.
The other tool I use are carbide cutting dies used in an air driven die grinder. Very small and precise tool. The dies can be bought in hundreds of styles and are extremely effective in removing fiberglass with the precision of a dentist. There are 2 types, one has a cross-hatched pattern used for ferrous materials and those plug up easily. The other has a unidirectional cutting pattern used for non-ferrous material and they make very short work of FG. I can remove a 1/32" inch line down a crack in seconds with NO damage to surrounding area. With larger dies I can trim and model a keel area or large damage very quickly as well as make tapers for patch areas. They will trim lead and a whole host of materials. The speed can be controlled by an inline air valve for perfect control. The chips again are big enough that they lay down and stay put. The carbide dies never seem to get dull and at roughly $15 to $25 each they are a true bargain.
I will never sand FG again unless it's with a longboard. If you would like more input feel free to ask....you'll love this system.
Cheers.......Greg
I saw a few youtube videos of this and tried it. I don't know if this will help you, but it helps me with drywall dust when cutting or sanding drywall. Get a large plastic sparklets water jug (maybe 5 or 10 gallons?) and cut the bottom off so it's like a huge funnel. Cut little half round or triangular notches all around the edge of the big open end. Looking down from above, cut two holes in the side to get your hands and forearms into the jug, at the 12 and 3 o' clock position. Put some duct tape or something around the inside edges of these two holes so the plastic won't cut your wrists or forearms. Attach your vacuum hose to the narrow neck of the bottle and turn on your shop vac. Put the bottle over your grinder or sander and reach in through the two holes you cut in the sides. As you work you will see air getting sucked in through the notches you cut in the base and carry away dust and debris to the top of the bottle where the vacuum hose is. You can modify this 10 different ways to suit your needs.
Bought one and it already paid for itself. Used it on our cockpit area. Got in places u couldn't otherwise. Made quick work of an otherwise long project. Used it to re-contour the base of the seats as well. Glass should lay in nicely..... after it stops raining an we getter dried out and prepared for that process. Thx for the great info!
An old construction trick with fiberglass ichy-es is to cover yourself (skin) with baby powder and I mean cover yourself! The powder keeps the fiberglass from sticking to your skin and it works great. Also, you have clothes you use to work in fiberglass, and when not in use they go in a bag. Do not wash these clothes in your washing machine with out running the WM empty with soap to remove any residual fibers left behind. also, only wash your fiberglass work clothes alone in the WM. Remember lots and lots of baby powder.
Great recommendation! I couldn't justify the price on the Makita (though it was tempting) so I went with a smaller import and a couple packs of 40 grit belts. I ground out to glass over the original bilge drain hole in my transom today and I am in love with it for all the patchwork I need to do on my restoration project. Even though I'm working outdoors dealing with controllable dust for the smaller scale grinding is going to be freaking awesome. Thank you for all the knowledge you share!
Take a look at the festool grinders and dust collectors. I have been useing one for 5 years and there is almost no clean up. Festool catches about 98.5 % of all sanding /grinding dust.
That does it! I've watched too many of your videos, found them too useful, and am applying too many of your suggestions to my boat projects. I can't keep watching without guilt - as soon as this video finishes playing I'm going to start supporting you on Patreon. I love your videos - keep up the great work. I have a ton of fairing, glassing, and teak refurbishing to do this year, so I'll be watching lots of your videos again. ;-))
Great information. I too am a fiberglass tech. Our shop has large fans in the back wall, and we have fans in the front. When I grind, it's like a wind tunnel, and the dust pulls to the rear of the shop. Your vacuum idea works well too. That's my go to, if I have to do quick repairs in our rigging shop.
Good tip! I used a 1/2 inch belt sander from Harbor Freight to grind a bevel to repair a Laser dinghy cockpit floor. An angle grinder gives you great control over the depth and slope of the bevel, but the belt sander was handy to get so close to an inside corner.
I used one of those, Bosch made a little wider one with shorter belts but my go tool is the small Festool for the dust collection.
I just put a diamond wheel on a anngle grinder. The cuts a all most perfect! Very little dust is produced.
The Makita 3/4 inch x 10 ft vacuum hose’s (Part number 192108-A) suction end slides right into the dust extraction port without any issue with the spring loaded cap. The other end will take the RIDGID 1 1/4 vacuum adapter. Mind you Makita told me they didn’t know what hose of theirs or anyone else’s would fit. But another owner told me that the ID of the extraction port was around 3/4 inch and another non-Makita source told me that the OD of the suction end of the hose was 3/4. So I put two and two together and fortunately two and two did go together with a perfect fit! Dust extraction is very important for all my sanding tools since I’m restoring a fiberglass sailboat. Nice vid by the way-
Great tip. Bought a less expensive 1/2” belt sander on Harbour Freight. Worked great for beveling edges etc.
I've seen those tiny belt sanders for years and thought, "why would you need that??" After dust bombing my boat replacing thruhull backing plates... I found this video and thought, I'd give it a shot. It's turning into my most used tool. Thank you.
I've got the same sander and I have to say that it is a thing of beauty. This is how all power tools should be built. Still made in Japan, not china, and worth every penny.
Hilti is now making some of their smaller (aka < $1000) stuff in China. Chinese made but still with German prices.
I got a kick out of this video, much of what you found is what I discovered while pulling my Cheoy Lee apart, the deck on my 47 Pedrick is 1-1/2" total thickness, with a 1/4" thick fiberglass skin on either side with solid mahogany planking as a core, you could have the entire Riverdance Chorus dance on this deck and not have it deflect. I did have some moisture in it due to the 3000 holes from the old teak deck screw holes leaking into it but used an old trick I had used on other boats I've restored. Isopropyl Alcohol, also know as rubbing alcohol is hygroscopic, it's loves to combine with water and then makes it easier to evaporate. If you have moisture in your deck and little or no damage you can drill access holes into it, pour isopropyl alcohol into the deck , let it absorb then put a fan on it to help evaporation.
I had a C&C 38 years ago, with a cored deck, there were some moisture issues around some of the deck fittings, I pulled the fittings, opened up the holes, poured in the alcohol then waited a day for it to absorb. Once I did this I put a spot lamp under the deck in that area and a fan on the deck and waited, two days later the deck tested totally dry. Routed out the core under the deck mount holes, filled with thickened epoxy then drilled new holes through the epoxy. I ended up dong this for all the deck mounting holes when I re-bedded all the deck hardware. Twelve years later, when I sold that boat the surveyor was pleasantly surprised at how dry the deck core was. Because of the care this boat received the entire boat structure was extremely dry, the first person to see it and have it surveyed bought it.
If you want to dry the deck faster, you can pour the alcohol into the core, heat the underside with a lamp or a gentle heat source, make a manifold out of heavy plastic film, duct tape it to a vacuum fitting and put a shop vac to it. You want to make sure there's plenty of ventilation, the heat source just warms it, not heats it to a flammable point and your shop vac can run for extended periods. A cheap shop vac won't do it. When I did this I made a bleeder hole in the manifold so the air/alcohol mix couldn't reach a combustible point.
Just sayin.
Hugs from Norway!
You are the best source when it comes to learning about fiberglass. I really appreciate your videos.
You have an excellent point. May I suggest something? If you can fabricate a hood and hook up a shop vac; you can filter the fiberglass particles but the risk may not be worth it. Also a paint room with an air filter is another solution. I cannot stand fiberglass due to the itchiness. Also, that is a very nice sloop!
I liked your remark that it's better to swear once when you buy it, then to swear every time you use it :-)
Words to live by!!! I've learned the hard way :-/
@@boatworkstoday Buy once, cry once.
@@boatworkstoday Buy once, cry once.
They wanted it done nice, so we had to do it twice?
Andy the small belt grinder does produce a radius that is very aesthetic.
I have found way to completely keep FG dust out of the shop.
Grind it outside!! Then rinse it off.
I just went through a 2 1/2 day cleanup after a 40 minute grinding job. Great video with sound advice.
Great tip. The thing about using what a pro uses or their method is you know that they are doing it because it works or saves time or both. When the bottom line is your livelihood you don't mess around with something that doesn't work.
Much like using the small belt sander, Roloc discs both 2" and 3" driven with a variable speed right angle drill have worked very well for me for small jobs. Especially taping in new bulkheads, engine beds, etc. Easy to hold the vac behind as well. Very much appreciate your cleanliness! Can't say enough about how it can improve morale for everyone else in the shop!
I like your channel Andy. Ive been restoring a '70's fiberglass camper trailer and all the fiberglass episodes are really helpful. Keep up the great work.
About to start repairing my Grady White 255 Sailfish and this video has me rethinking my grinding cut-out approach for gaining access to my stringer scab-in under the fresh water coffin. I am working outdoors and was entirely about to start using my grinder with that same paddle but maybe not after watching this video... thanks a ton! Epic timing for me! LoL
Hope it helps!!!!!! Good luck with your project!!!
I have had that Makita sander for over 25 years Great Tool. I wore out the small roller the rubber came off and its still going. I have to get a new roller LOL. Great videos BTW I loved the gel coat vid on west system very informative!
Use a vacuum drywall sander for large flat areas, also palm Sanders with dust collectors can hook to shop vac to reduce dust.
Another tip I have found to avoid some of the itching is cover your arms in talcum powder. Then use cold water to rinse your arms without rubbing. The talc helps to carry away the dust and keeps it out of your pores.
After watching your video, I went on the Home Depot web site to buy a belt sander. I found one for less than $40. It is a WEN and is variable speed 1/2" x 18" belt. Belts are about a buck a piece. I figure I can wear out a few of these and still be ahead of the game over buying a Makita for over $200.
I use a air angle grinder and keep my area really wet especially for the big grinding jobs. By keeping it wet helps with any dust going airborne.
Another one to try. Has similar speed to the grinder and dust control as your belt grinder.. is a air die grinder with a flap wheel in it. Super fast and the dust control is pretty controllable.
For large areas, such a bottom jobs I usually use an IR hook and loop DA sander with vacuum attachment hooked to a shop vac with a cyclone filter inline. It works great and my tyvec suit is still clean.
Cyclones make a HUGE difference on the vac filter ;-) Same setup I use for most things!!
BoatworksToday Forgot to mention to the DIY crowd, if you're sanding cuprous oxide bottom paint make sure to wear a good well fitting respirator because inhaling it is very dangerous and you will get heavy metal poisoning very quickly. It is very important to collect as much of the stuff as possible. It is very toxic, hazardous, very bad stuff if not handled properly.
can't believe you have found exactly the same tool as me for doing the same job and for the same reasons. these are life savers, no more horrid air born dusts. not as fast but if you add clean up times, it's probably as fast in the long run, however the dust attachment is of no use to me as it won't fit any of my hoovers.
I've used the pneumatic version in the past, and it was always referred to as a "dynafile". Good for eliminating high spots in tubing and other round parts...
So glad I found your videos. Thank you for the wealth of information! I bought a used and abused little sunfish that I’m trying to restore.
A wet grinder solves the itchy problem completely but may cause addition problems in some situations. The 4" wet grinder I have was originally built for surfacing concrete.
Thank you so much Andy for your videos, I have recently bought my first boat which needs lots of work. Thanks to your expertise, I am doing jobs I never thought I would do. If ever you come to Australia (Western Australia), I would be extremely happy to buy you a drink mate. Thank you!.
Great suggestion thanks. I've been using a massive 4 inch Makita belt sander for larger areas and while it's well built and powerful it's too hard to control for fine work and way too heavy. Going to check out that little gem!
This was very helpful, thank you.
More than helpful for the itch side of the problem - talcum powder! I don't know how it works (blocks the pores?) but applied before the job (especially between the fingers and on inner arms, and around my waist) it is EXTREMELY effective at preventing itch. In fact it renders me immune to the point where I don't feel the need to use gloves at all. I keep an open bucket of talc around the shop to dip into easily but it is best to avoid breathing it in of course.
Nice,,, I've been useing small drum Sanders on my drill for 20 years pretty much same principal,, but I have options of many different size drum's and cheap..
As an amateur who is nonetheless pro level after 45 years and over 220 feet waterlines of boats, I just don't grind glass. period. There are lots of other things you can do. In production it keeps jobs moving. Not be cause it is faster, it has to do with drying intervals. I build at home, so I don't have to worry about cycles, so it works out great for me. Saves me work and a lot of toxics in the environment. That environment is where I, my kids, and neighbours live.
What's the dust extraction you use with this and what do you recommend on smaller home repairs? Wet/Dry Filtered
As a lot of sanders and saws have perversion to use extraction what do you recommend with fiber glass?
Maybe a vid on collection and disposal of waste as a part 2?
Could help with ppl even in boat yards (or close neighbours) where drifting outdoor glass fibers might be issues.
So far ive been lucky and did an old chip repair on a farm in the open air and recently just wet sanded the last project.
Great vid series , thanks heaps
Nice video, this Makita sander has a built in dust extraction port. Get a fitting from your Makita dealer which will directly connect it to your shop vac. Then its a one handed job 😎😎😎
Never under any circumstances think that if you can't see it that it can't hurt you regarding fiberglass dust.
While I understand your reason to use the belt sander over the angle grinder regarding dust and clean up but there still are particles floating in the air. I have worked with fiber glass and resin for over 35 years, was trained by 3M to fit respirators and test for leakage. Part of the training revealed it wasn't the particles you see that are bad for your health but the particles you cannot see. Those are the ones that can get lodged into your lungs and never leave potentially causing mesothelioma or worse cancer.
I understand what you are saying and all I can say is, there is no clean way to grind fiberglass...period! If there was, everybody would be using it. So I just cover up with a coverall suit with gloves and face mask/respirator and just do it. It is everybody's hated job, but it has to be done. JMHO
This is GREAT! Mads truly gets his best ideas from you
I always use a Roloc sander with P30 discs with selfmade holder for the vacuum pipe
Tips like this are very useful. I don't know why it came up as a recommended video today, but I'm glad it did. Thanks!
Love your videos. Just for general information if you add a vac dapter sold for the grinder you wont jave any dust even better you can make your own from scrap of paint buckets...look in too it...we do lots of concrete and have our home made dust collectors...like your videos keep the f
Good work !
For a week I have been sanding a 14 ft. Fiberglass hull removing bottom paint and scratches in the gelcoat. Dust is everywhere. I use my air compressor to blow the garage out. After it settles I sweep the floor and then blow again. I repeat the process over and over blowing everything in the garage as dust settles everywhere. It sucks.
I had the same problem here! For my budget, I find the Black & Decker Powerfile Precision Belt Sander (CYPF260) around 45$. Less powerfull and smaller than the Makita but do the job ;)
Oh hei it's one of my fav dustless tools also! Best tool for creeping into small places and for making some surgical or dustless grinding. They also have the 10mm one, but the belt is prone to derailing. If you don't mind I'd like to write a little review of it I have found so far for fellow itching folks around here:
The tool also isn't that powerful so if worst would happen.. - there wouldn't be any worse happening as I have even stopped it with my shirt by accident and all I got was little nick.
It has a dead man's switch which is very comfortable as it's easier to grip it and apply downward force by the motor housing. I even once velcro-strapped the trigger-handle onto my wrist and grabbed it be the motor housing, but because of two point support of the tool ( wrist and fist) it was way easier to grind for hours not getting sore.
I haven't found the handle to be much of a tool - it also get's on the way of reaching into corners many times so It's better to take it off. The handle attachment nut is on the other hand very good gripping point.
The unshielded/ unshielded) rear rotor bearing can come right full of brush and dust matter so you need to wash it down time to time. Very easy to get to tho
The latest and bestest 'dustless' technology will work in both directions depending how you hold the tool. I use old 5 litre plastic canisters that I cut half and attach a vacuum hose to the cork hole. You can shape the canister as you like and not be careful of running the belt right across the edges of it as probably everyone have them in like piles laying around anyways. It's easy to fabricobble supports for the canister or hold it by for knee of something, especially if you're grinding something tight like a bilge area or some little compartment
Buy it for life tool I would say!
i just wanted to thank you for your educational and instructional videos. i have learned a ton just watching you. i like how you explain "why and how" things work the way that they do.
suggestion: current version of makita stripsander has a dustcollector on which you can fit a hose of a vacuumcleaner. i am using karcher vacuumcleaner wet/dry. it comes with thin hose which fits these devices. you can connect the sander to an outlet on the vacuum. the vacuum cleaner then senses that you switch on,off the sander and switches the vacuum accordingly. this is more ergonomic than holding the tube yourself. the vacuum is about $150. but you can use it for all your tools saws sanders. but also to clean wet floor
Andy, I'm plugging a hole where I took out an I/O merc. And an going to replace it with an O/B on an Anderson extension. What type of Plywood should I use to plug the hole? Interior or exterior? The boat is a 1977 23ft Seaway and the transom is Plywood and FG. The Transom is in fine shape, no rot. I'll hop on the patreon when I start catching some lobsters. Thank you, John.
Have you tried an electric hand planer with a vacuum attachment to do your bevels? I know they are designed for wood, but I think they would have no problem with fiberglass if you don't take off too much in 1 pass. It may be a lot quicker and just as clean as the belt sander....? You would have to periodically sharpen the blade, but no need to purchase belts.
Some advice, protect your hearing by using ear plugs. Years of working with power tools without ear protection has left me with a major hearing loss. Thanks for the informative videos.
In trade school I was taught that even though a given power tool may not sound very loud, there are high frequency sounds that will make havoc on your inner ear. I’m glad they told me that, as I refuse to use anything other than a cordless drill without hearing protection. 20 years in and I still have the hearing of an owl.
What?
I have viewed a few of your Videos. The way you present things in a simple to follow format is great. As are you examples and samples of real life tests. You tell it not from a marketing perspective but real life experience. When my boat is finally on it's way the beers are on me... cheers mate
It don't bother me at all for the itch what bothers me more is grinding metal I really get itchy from that...but great video of his the dust gets everywhere ... Those little voids under the gel coat is that not called omasios ? Or something like that where the gel is seperation from fiberglass . .
And would that be from water getting underneath the two and casing it to bubble ...I noticed that under the water line and bottom of boats a lot... I worked in a autonomy shop that did boat repairs as well fixing the hull and transum of boats watching your videos brings back memories taking the boats off trailers and putting them on the stands was the scarry part of the job and hopping the floor was not rotten so the stands would hold even the eye in the front was strong enough for the stand to hold that area to remove the trailer from underneath for we can get underneath and do the repairs where the fiberglass was damage from hitting rocks is just smashing the waves and getting stress cracks from time and time again from being a poor quality boat and people think that got a boat and they can go out for a joy ride and beat the crap out of it. I miss that work there was good money repairing them compaired to working in cars no one wanted to work on the fiberglass boats what we came up with for our shop was a raped off room with a old furnace fan and made up like a spray booth with high quality furnace filters that recirculation of the air going through a 1 foot diameter flexible tube that we put where we were working to blow the dust away from us and towards the wall of filters the wall was 6 foot square and worked great we had to bring lighting in to see under the boats etc. We'd clean the wash them even painted the bottoms and applied anti fouling agent's the copper colored stuff that changed color in water.
Thanks for the video and the memory's to bad the kid destroyed the business that his father worked so hard to build a name even restoration of cars pulling body's off frames and sending them out for acid dipping etc. or however the client wanted it restored epoxy primer one the car was stripped then the bodywork ..
I am so glad I watched this I am redoing my fish holds on my Gill net boat and I completely agree about how much Dust the flapper disks create
It looks like there a vacuum hose attachment on the cord end, and if so, does it not capture the dust as well as the technique you demonstrated (handheld hose closer to the sanded area)?
Looks like a nice tool to have in your shop...much more practical than the stationary style...and you could always devise a mount & table setup to hold it!
Thanks for the tip!
awesome tip,,,,,,,i bought a little harbor freight air belt .........and love it for small tight crannies,,,,,,i want one of these now.....rather .GOT TO HAVE ONE OF THESE!
Have you seen the vacuum dust shroud they make for grinders? I know there is one that fits Dewalt. I saw them for multiple brands, may be another option to allow use of a grinder indoors. Thanks for the great videos and tips. Great work as usual.
I just started doing some hatch repair on my 1985 315 Chris Craft Commander. Last year when I was installing a new pulpit on my 25' Chris Craft Catalina Sportsman, I had purchased a Rockwell Sonicrafter tool. It has mutiple heads or I should say attachments, and the sanding mess is even less than your narrow belt sander. Fein, Porter Cable, Rockwell, Dremel, and Dewalt all have a version. If you have a way, I'd like to share some pictures and maybe I can make a small video to share with you. It has cut down on time, as well as mess...thank you for your videos.
I think I have a version of what you're referring to (Fein's version is the Multimaster). Awesome tool for small areas!!
Might want to take a look at Eastwood's Contour SCT tool. It is a little larger and works similarly. I'd be interested in your take on it.
My garage this winter looks white unfortunately for using flap wheel on my dewalt. Quick work, even faster mess. I hand the vaccum in the room to get as much as possible, but barely makes a debt in the mess. Its going to take a lot of compressed air with the doors open, and a respirator, to get it cleaned up as soon as the weather breaks. Good tip, I havent picked one of those hand sanders, still not sure I can justify with bench mount belt sander, bench grinder, palm sanders ect. If I had one around, I would give that a go.
Hi, I need to retrieve the hull ID number from the small faded metal plate in the transom of my 1978 montgomery 10. Any idea how or who can help me with doing this? Great video. Thanks for sharing.
DeWalt's come out with dust collection hoods with universal vacuum attachments - DEWALT DWE46170 7-Inch Surface Grinding Dust Shroud - it would be neat if they'd give you one, and you could test it out on video.
Hi! First of all, congrats for your videos and good job!
I have a question about the best way to remove epoxy primer. I have antifouling paint on top of epoxy premier on top of gelcoat. Now, I need to remove the paint and the epoxy primer and leave the gelcoat exposed to the air. Do you have a tip or suggestion on how to remove it without sand blasting and damaging the gelcoat underneath the epoxy primer? Thanks a lot!
I bought that belt sander after finding your channel years back - do you ever have issues with it slowing down?
I attached a dust hose to the fitting on its back but think your method of holding the vacuum hose closer to the head of the sander catches way more dust.
Bought that little guy last year -- I think I noticed it in one of your videos. Super useful, but I think their built in dust port needs a redesign. It's too far away from the contact area for the vacuum to really pick most of it up and you have to hold the hose behind it like you're doing.
Have you tried the Festool RAS? It works like a well behaved grinder / rotary sander with dust collection that gets about 80% of the mess. Faster removal rate than their Rotex but not as smooth of a finish.
I have not but pretty much anything Festool is good stuff!
Wow Andy. As ever an incredibly valuable tip. Thank you! Pat in Dublin Ireland.
Build or install an air filter... you can't "see" the other dust... I built mine so it will clean the air to 1 micron... even wood dust is just as bad as fiberglass to breathe. I mainly do wood and metal working and I just bought a rfp box truck that has some issues, that will eventually be a steath camper with a 12x8 workshop in the back, so I'm here getting some tips on fixing the side wall that was previously fixed by who ever owned it before incorrectly and failed. I figure if I fix it to a boat standards then it won't fail like the previous attempt. It was a big hole... if it wasn't so high up I would have guessed a car drove though it... When I bought it didn't see any problem other than a small slice in the side... the truck had been wrapped 3 times and when I got to the orginal box siding, is when I saw what had happened. Sections of fiberglass repair and orginal panel started coming off with the wrap.
I wonder if you put a small 4 inch shroud around the flap wheel to vacuum the dust. Minee works for my concrete grinders.
If you mostly grind with the tip of the beltsander ? maybe you can make a cower underneath so you can use the vacum conection?
Love your videos, got my own project boat and you've really helped me a lot with your techniques.
Great tip. I will buy one. Is that wooden strip above the cabin windows for looks or is it to deflect rain water over the window perspex below? Thanks
I just pulled carpet off my boat deck. What is the best way to get the hardened old glue off?. So I can prime it.
Great video(s) I'm subscribing. Also wondering why you don't simply attach the hose to the tool? I'm assuming that it's because you are only using the tip of the tool, not the entire flat surface.
Just ordered one to try as sick of having to hoover the boat after every 5-10 mins if grinding!
Hi, I noticed you don't use the vacume attachments on the belt sander, why?
Regards Eric
The videos are sped up, I think he's using so slowly that the dust doesn't get to the dust port, which is more for high-speed sanding. Hes has taken the door off the dust port though, so I guess he also uses a shop-vac too sometimes
Another great video Andy! I'm going right out to get one. Well worth the money for what it does.
Dought you read these any more, but maybe someone out there that’s got more experience than I do!!
I hv a problem with my fiberglass popping up once I try to lay it down.
Ok so I hv a 12” x 10” piece of HD cardboard I hv already painted to with resin w/ hard er in it. Making a slotted type box to side my clear tackle boxes into so I don’t hv to carry boxes abs unlock etc. bolting it to inside of boat once done, made my angled mounts outta fiberglass very HD. But every time I lay glass down, on wet resin lay down my sheet I hv pre cut 1 1/2” bigger as so I can fold glass around to make the edges sturdy enough. But once I fold it over it eventually pops up or loose s up creating a air pocket along the edge, I oust it back down etc
I used clear packing tape to try abs hold it down but just creates a freaking mess loosens up every thing, tried rubber bands but just makes multiple smaller air pockets.
Re thought the process abs maybe I should just it the glass 1/4” smaller than the tray separator, get several layers on each side let cute,cure,then cut a piece 6” wide and ends are even with the sides that would give me 3” to fold over, surely that would hold, just try abs save my glass, money is tight but already wasted more than I needed to, anyone got any I put on this thanks please keep clean don’t need a bunch of smart comments already live with one smart you know what lol
i was wondering would wet sanding be an option never really did fiberglassing so not sure
What kind of vacuum cleaner bags & filters are safe to clean up fiberglass dust?
“The Bitterness of Poor Quality remains Long after the Sweetness of Low Price is Forgotten.”
Buy once, cry once, Is always the way to go !
May I ask, can you not obtain a sanding tool that includes a vacuum pick up, so you can use it one handed. I
I use a DA with powerful intergrated vacuum this removes all the dust.
Ha, I think the saying is "Buy once, cry once." Thanks for sharing this video
I have not finished my fiberglass lamination in one day so can continue working on it the next? Any prep? Or just continue Reith it...thanks..I'm new in fiberglass lamination...thanks
Thanks Andy. My boat neighbors would likely appreciate something quieter than a grinder too. I have one of these and never even thought about using it for this application. I will now. You may be getting another credit in an upcoming video ;).
I am watching your deck project with a keen eye, we are both along this same deck repair trail.
Hi Gill :-) Let me know what you think after you've given it a try!!
SVDreamC
Andy, quick question about sanding/grinding...I am about to fair (poly fairing compound) the deck of 20 year old skiboat. The original deck (fully synthetic...no wood) has the mat texture showing through. We have removed the old carpet and are going to fair and gelcoat so its smooth. I've watched a bunch of your videos. My question...how much do I need to sand/grind before starting the fairing? As long as I get the surface clean, the existing mat texture showing through the old glass will serve as a mechanical bond with the new poly fairing right? Or do I need to grind a ton first? Thanks in advance Andy!!
Will you ever be showing some over head glassing?
They make a 4 " grinder with a dust collection cover on it. it hooks right to your vac.
That's what I thought too. Is there a reason it's not being used?
Great Advice! Thank you so much!
Thank you for sharing the tricks of the trade. I'm big fun of your work.
Have you tried these 7-inch variable speed polishers? It's possible to get 7 inch hook and loop sand paper. With 7 inch of surface and speed control this does remove a lot of material quick. Also running it at lower speed reduces the mess, so there is very little dust in the air even without any dust extraction tricks.
One more question, sorry. Have you tried "Dustie" on the grinder? like one '5" Universal Dustie' sold by globalindustrial?
sorry for too many question. this is itchy business for me :)
Why wouldn't a three or four inch bely sander work on the larger flat areas. I refinished the wood flooring in a whole entry hall with one.
Have you seen the dust apron Mads from sail life has for his high speed grinder?
Still itching from the work I did a few days ago! As always, thanks for tips.
If you have a 3" hole in a boat how far back would you have to grind before apply fiberglass??
I watch so many of your videos that I feel like we are friends.....wanna have a beer? seriously these videos are great keep them coming.