Re: Cedar Strip Canoe - Could I get a little help from my glassen buddies?
Nice job! I particularly like the bow decks. My only comment is regarding the sanding you've done. You mentioned 120 grit sandpaper which is coarse enough to have taken off a little too much material in spots so that the cloth is now showing. My experience is that to get it nice and shiny, you need to go down to much finer grit (the finer the better but at least 600) not put varnish over it. The last few steps are wet sanding. When you do that, the glass will be very smooth and you don't tend to take off as much material. I'm afraid that if you put the spar varnish on top of the glass with the sanding you've done, that any imperfections (sanding marks, remaining ripples, etc.) will be enhanced and they'll shine but they'll be very obvious. I'd try a small spot on the bottom or maybe along the gunnels first if you still want to put varnish on now. That way if it looks worse with the varnish than you want it to, it will be covered up. Like I said in an earlier post, I've owned wood strip racing canoes and they are so smooth you can't tell there's glass on them and I'm sure they don't have any varnish on the outside or inside. I have a good friend that is in Mass. that I can ask who could detail the steps he's taken to get the race boat hulls really shiny for me if you'd like. Whatever you do, you'll love it when it's done. 1988 Starcraft
