In my last post I addressed an issue that I was having with the plug that I am building for this fiberglass project. At some point after the sponsons were covered with mat and resin I realized that they were simply too big in diameter. To correct this problem I cut the fiberglass covering off with a Dremel tool and then used a chisel to scrape the building surface clean of foam. After rebuilding the sponsons with foam and fiberglass I begin to follow the … finishing procedures that I always use. I begin by using a sanding block with 80 grit paper to rough the surface of the sponsons. Then I skin them with bondo and a plastic putty knife or an old credit card. When the bond cures, I will go ahead and sand it smooth with a sanding block. Once smooth, I check the sponsons for imperfections or irregularities. Any defects are filled then sanded smooth again with bondo.
Rear Underside of Plug
Now that my sponsons are more in line with the scale I am trying to comply with and sanded smooth, I can move on to the next step. At this point I will give the plug a coat of light gray automotive primer. The primer will expose defects such as scratches, ridges at the edge of bondo patches and pin holes in the fiberglass itself. I like this part of building a plug. While it exposes all of the defects, it also makes my project look like it is coming together.
Happy Glassing
Steve
