DIY Canoe Skid Plate Install

[latremorej]

Looks good from here!

Jason

 

[Guest]

I ended up using Dynel (or maybe it was Xynole - the website product listing had both for the same item) and Peel Ply from Duckworks Boat Building Supply.

I do not know if there is a difference in those materials or not.

I put powdered graphite in my mix, but it wasn't enough. I didn't measure, but really had no idea how much I was supposed to use. So, I stopped when it looked black. To get really black, I should have doubled or tripled the amount. I used maybe a teaspoon in 4 oz of epoxy. Should have been closer to a tablespoon? I don't mind the color. Maybe I'll get charcoal paint to match instead of going for gloss black... I can definitely see the Dynel strands in the final product. I'm guessing this is also because of the lack of coloring.

West System graphite powder recommends Up to 10 percent by volume or one tablespoon per 5 fluid ounces. In a 4 or 5 ounce pot of epoxy I add a slightly heaping teaspoon, which seems plenty. But I have always added a little dab of black color agent pigment, which probably helps a lot in color saturating the cloth.

I did not cut my Dynel on the bias. It's too much of a pain to order this stuff, and while affordable it's not free. I didn't have any problems with it laying down on the hull.

I usually do not do the bias cut either. Too fabric wasteful for my Scots blood.

I only waited about 4.5 hours for the expoy to set before pulling the peel ply. Seems to have put a nice almost smooth surface on (very slight texture). Maybe waiting overnight would have smoothed it further naturally? I ran some 220 sandpaper over it, and it smoothed it right out with little effort.

Once you have pulled peel ply a few times you get a feel for OK, this is a clean release. As long as the peel ply pull is not moving the fabric or pulling up a stucco of tacky epoxy you are good. But with release treated peel ply I usually let it sit, often overnight. The peel ply leaves a very faint weave texture, which is not a bad thing for mechanical adhesion of a top coat of epoxy or paint.

Probably the most disappointing thing for me is the edge where the epoxy meets the hull. It's pretty uneven to the eye. I know when I paint it, that will largely disappear. But, I was expecting something a bit more tidy. I think maybe I just didn't have quite enough epoxy applied to consistently fill the void? Or maybe the 100% g/flex mix wasn't runny enough to flow into this area?

From the photos it looks like you went too light with the topcoat of epoxy. Look at around 4 minutes in at the heavy fill coat in the Nova Craft video OneCanoe posted to start this thread, or at the similar epoxy drip photos in post 18.

Even with the Dynel thickly saturated it helps to repeatedly push against and compress the peel ply at the transition edges of the cloth against the hull. I do that every half hours for several hours.while the epoxy is setting up. Babysitting the skid plates is worth it.

I would razor and sand off those lifted whiteish areas around the perimeter and lay another coat of epoxy on. You could also, or better as well, tilt the hull on its side and use a tiny paintbrush to lay a bead of Gflex around the raised perimeter of the cloth to prevent grit infiltration and peeling. That thimble full of Gflex does wonders at any otherwise abrupt transition edge.

At this point, I'm going to count on the spray paint to cover any shortcomings, unless you recommend a topcoat of epoxy. Even with the imperfections, I'm really quite happy with the results.

Once you paint it is harder to go back and fix any imperfections. I would razor off and sand the raised edges to your satisfaction, even if that is both an epoxy and graphite powder top coat and a perimeter edge bead, and then top coat with black enamel paint.

BTW, you need to tape and paper again in order to paint, and with spray paint at least drape cover most of the hull for aerosolized over spray. It is easier, and provides a thicker paint coat, just to buy an 8 ounce can of Rustoleum gloss black enamel and brush it on.

 

[CanoeTerry]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll tackle the stern pad in the next day or two, and will do the touch-up on the bow one, then. I have it sanded down pretty good, but will do the touch-up with a brush that you recommend, and put a thin top-coat on to get it a bit darker before I paint it. I also agree about the brush-on paint, and that's what I'll do. I may still go with more of a charcoal color instead of glossy black. Does the gloss black impart any benefits other than the obvious appearance? I got a quart of rustoleum enamel out of the "Oops" bin for $1, charcoal grey in satin, I think, that I thought I'd try. The color doesn't sound unappealing to me on a green hull...

 

[Holmes375]

I like grey colored plates on green canoes.

 

[Guest]

I may still go with more of a charcoal color instead of glossy black. Does the gloss black impart any benefits other than the obvious appearance? I got a quart of rustoleum enamel out of the "Oops" bin for $1, charcoal grey in satin, I think, that I thought I'd try. The color doesn't sound unappealing to me on a green hull...

Nope, nothing special about gloss black enamel paint, I just always have some in the shop. Most of my canoes have black vinyl or black anodized aluminum gunwales, and the underlying Dynel is pigmented and graphite powdered black, so when the enamel paint gets the inevitable scrapes and scratches they do not show as visibly.

 

[goonstroke]

I just did my first Dynel skid plate, a quickie because of back to back weekend trips, and I sure like working with that stuff. Easy to massage as you're wetting it out, and delightfully sandable. I was surprised at how clear (as opposed to white) it ended up -- I didn't pigment or anything, and it was on a dark green boat (Wenonah "spruce" royalex).

 

[Guest]

If you have more than one canoe it won't be your last. And the next one will come out even better,