Blog Post #10

 5/23/22

Today was another prep day, really trying to get everything together so I can finish. Unsurprisingly, it involved more sanding and epoxy work. To begin, I decided I would finish sanding the top side of the rubrails. I initially thought I was happy with them, but I decided  I would rather sand them further to eliminate some more of the epoxy that was coating the wood. 

After this, I moved onto the seats. First, I "broke" the edges of the seats - meaning I took a 120 grit sanding disk and, using a block, worked along edges of the seats. This softens the sharp edges, which result from the cutting of the seats. The only purpose this serves is to make the finished product look and feel smoother. 

I then got the vacuum and took care to remove as much dust as I could, in preparation for my fillets. Using the pastry bag method I often refer to, I laid small fillets along the edges of the seats. With the fillet tool I made, I smoothed the fillets out the best that I could. 

Once they had hardened to some degree, it was time for me to get some gloves and isopropyl alcohol. Dipping my finger in the bottle, I proceeded to give the fillets their final shape. At this point, I decided to take care one last task - coating the tops of the seats with epoxy. 

Using a roller tray full of unthickened epoxy, I gave the seats a good thick coating. As I expected, the wood absorbed a significant amount, so an hour or so after I laid the first coat I hit it with a second. This way, I only have one coat left to lay. 

Tomorrow I will continue sanding. 

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