Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute

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Sanding Marathon

The weather was nice yesterday and I had a marathon sanding session with the random orbital sander outside. The wood hull is sealed in epoxy resin and all of the sanding that I'm doing now is on the resin. Even with the shop vac hooked to the sander some of the sawdust escapes. I sanded yesterday with 120 grit and finished it inside today with 150 grit, sanding in line with the strips to get rid of any sanding marks from the machine.

I got two coats of the finish inside and out today with a brush and from 10' away the finish is beautiful. Up close however the brush marks are visible and I'll finish it up with a HVLP sprayer. I would like to spray the inside before I attach the wood trim so I don't have to mask the wood when I spray the final coat.

The hull will be General Finishes Exterior 450 satin which like I've said before is my go to finish for hulls and paddles. The wood trim is going to be an oil finish varnish or urethane gloss or semi gloss. I like the contrast of the two finishes on the hull and wood trim.