Skin on frame solo canoe, Day 8. Build time: 6hrs.
Coated the canoe today with two-part polyurethane. It seems like every time I do this I decide at the last minute that the rules don’t apply to me and start off with a double batch, and then spend the next 20 minutes mutttering and cursing as I work frantically to stay ahead of the cure time. Fortunately, in moments like these Liz is always there to remind me if I follow the instructions in my canoe building course this wouldn’t happen.
I’ve been experimenting with thicker build ups so I was was planning on putting five coats of the polyurethane on this one, but I didn’t manage my coating time well enough and bumped into the 5 hour limit early. This limit has nothing to do with cure or recoat time, it just represents the absolute longest that I can leave the masking tape on the gunwale before it is permanently glued there by the coating.
The two-part polyurethane I use is extremely viscous and builds very quickly, so four coats is plenty for this boat.
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