We fronted up again today to bog the hull. It was still a little tacky, which I saw as a good thing on 2 counts, the bog would not run as easily across the tacky surface but more importantly confirmed that the glass was still green ensuring a good chemical bond.
The long term readers will remember that last time we did this we got the ratios wrong on the West System bog mix because one of the small pumps broke and we mistakenly applied the 4:1 we used the day before on the wet out when measuring the rest of the bog and the bog would not fully set as a result and I had to remove most of it and re apply it. Well this time we have the wall mounted pumps and the 5:1 resin/hardener was correctly metered out by the West pumps so we have no doubt the bog will set correctly, although I must confess that I cant wait to get over there tomorrow to see for myself that the bog is set hard.
I prefer to use a wide scraper like trowel rather than the ones with the handle over the blade like a concreter would use, primarily because I can get the bog out of the container and onto the hull easier with less spillage. I used one of the regular trowels to smooth out the bog over the tapes in some places but overall used the one I am using in the pics above.
It took just on 4 hours for the 3 of us to bog the hull, although only Jo and I worked through as we didn’t really need Jake too much today so I have only added an hour of his time, and 8 hours for Jo and I (4 each). I am happy with the coverage of the bog, it looks about the same as last time except perhaps not as many runs because we made the mix a little thicker this time. It was harder to make the bog thick and still make large pots last time as it went off so fast, but as the air has not reached the temperature and humidity of summer we can get more done with less haste and with the longer pot life. And with more fairing compound in the mix it means a lower resin to compound ratio meaning it should be slightly easier to sand. The tapes are visible through the bog depending on the angle you look at them. This is good, it means I have not over bogged the hull (good from a weight perspective) just as the manual suggests.
The next task is to check that the bog is setting correctly. I think it will take a couple of days to set to full hardness so I will have a few days off. Next weekend I will start the long, painful task of sanding the bog back to smooth. Thanks again to Jake and Jo, we got a lot done in the last 2 days.
