heat or sand?

by Bob bryan

Nov 2, 2023

Years back I changed the bottom on my 17 1/2 Tatman from UHMW to glass/epoxy with graphite. I used fiberglass cloth with one layer of kelvar. Never did like it near as much as the UHMW. Now I am slowly repairing/refurbishing it and am thinking of stripping the bottom to the wood then using Wetlander or UHMW. Even without the kevlar it would be quite a chore & with the kevlar probably much worse. Anyone used heat to take a epoxy/ cloth layer off? Did it work?

  • up

    Bennett Yarbrough

    I tried sanding my bottom when I first started the graphite coats and had one layer not lay out as smooth as I’d wanted. I quickly abandoned the idea and just kept coating over it. Sanding all the epoxy off the bottom of your boat will be a miserable process at best. Since epoxy doesn’t go bad and I’ve heard rumors of uhmw with an epoxy binder on one side maybe that is your answer? I just wouldnt wish sanding epoxy off on anyone.

    Nov 9, 2023

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      Jonathan Clarke

      I removed CoatIt epoxy coating.  A heat gun and scraping worked best.  Don't know about removing Kevlar cloth.  I suspect sanding would be necessary.

      Nov 16, 2023