Restoration Advice

rayjbryant

New Member
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I wanted to restore the bottom of my sunfish this summer, any idea how I should go about it?
 

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I've pressure washed three Sunfish and can't think of any other way
that's as quick and effective in stripping mold off. Gets it to the
point where you can start repairs. Once you pressure wash the
bottom flip it over and then do the top. Then the trailer, then
you're wife's car. Had good luck with one of those cheap electric
washers. Use to use Hydrochloric acid to clean fiberglass hulls, effective
but dangerous without proper protection.
 
A new $79 pressure washer has the advantage of blasting the "seeder goop" out from under the aluminum trim—and will lift the edges of old repairs—enabling you to better visualize the scope of the damage.

Your damage to the keel is much like my winter damage. I used a grinder and kept going, even after the roving started falling away. The relatively small area of apparent damage resulted in a repair that covered about one square foot.

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Amazon sells a $30 West Systems "starter" epoxy kit, but alas, includes too little resin to finish the repair. (Which I guess was the reason for the low starter price). Find a way to squeeze every drop from the packets, be discriminating with the use of a sander—instead of a grinder—and you may get away with a $30 repair. :)

In your older Sunfish, there will likely be an empty space between the fiberglass keel and a thin (factory) layer of Styrofoam. (Appearing in the above photo). To economize on epoxy resin, I'd fill this space—preferably with portions of sail batten or plastic paint stir-sticks.

To facilitate an easy removal of your metal bailer (if needed), start today with doses of WD-40 inside. More:
Keel Repair | SailingForums.com

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