the different colors can actually work to your advantage in they help you see how the fairing is going. I would suggest a light color rather than a vivid one so it won't show through on the final product.
Maybe a light grey under a white topcoat?
I don't rely on different colored material. I close my eyes while rubbing my hands over the faired spot while muttering "na na na na na na na".
Jake Kohl
-- Have You Seen This? --
Re: TMS-20 update 6/17
[Re: Jake]
#234203 06/29/1109:58 AM06/29/1109:58 AM
Funny but on small spots I use the eyes closed method first. Some people have a good touch, I happen to blessed with a good touch. Sometimes I'll shoot just a dusting of light gray lacquer primer because it gets sanded off. Then I use lacquer thinner to remove the left over paint on the low spots once they are identified.
I used bondo in the past but not any more since I've switched to epoxy. Bondo will still absorb water and gel coat is porous no matter what anybody says. But for cats that live most of their life on a trailer it is negligible. I use West System with the light filler I think it is 410 that is cream colored.
Mike Shappell www.themanshed.com TMS-20 Builder G-Cat 5.7 - Current Boat NACRA 5.2 - early 70's
I use the 410 for most final fairing, but I often get pinholes from tiny bubbles. I now use Dolping Glaze, an automotive glaze specifically for such minor imperfections. It goes on real smooth, and sands effortlessly. It's a 2 part polyester, not epoxy, but I've not had any problems with it. And I'm getting great life and gloss out of high quality auto paints. Flight Risk's paint is now 7 years old, and it's still glossy everywhere I haven't scraped it off.
Great picture, but is there a reason that boom gooseneck is so low on the mast, and the foot of the main so high? Seems that you could either squeeze in a little more sail area, or raise the boom up a bit.. But I'm sure there's a good reason it's set up that way....
Shortly after I bought the boat the wingmast mysteriously broke 6' above the deck. Malcom, the builder, suggested moving the gooseneck to the main beam(like ORMA 60s) to eliminate boom induced forces on the mast. It's worked just fine, and it's easy to get across the tramp, either fore or aft, and mast rotation is induced otherwise. After the modification, the general consensus came to be that the mast was probably damaged in transit at some point. So I could move it back up to the mast, but I'm generally lazy. So sloth is the real reason the boom is rigged that way.
