At some point early in the manual some #&%)¤% tells you to slap
on your BID layup and "simply" stipple out any air bubbles.
If you use Jeffco epoxy things are not so simple, since the air bubbles
are virtually invisible, because Jeffco combined with fibreglass has the
excact same color as the underlying air bubbles. When hardened, the Jeffco
takes on a greenish color, that makes all the bubbles show up beautifully!
WHAT A PAIN!!!
Back in them good ol´ days when I built sailing boats, our paint
brushes were too small to stipple 60 ft. hulls, so we rolled!
These fibreglass-airbubble-rollers are not carried by hardware stores,
and are usually too large for our kinda work, so I have made one myself.
The job goes like this:
Take your favorite 1/4" paint roller shaft.
Discard the rock hard roller that is stuck to the shaft because your
wife didn´t have time to clean it after she painted her favorite
flower pots and most of the stairway they stood on
Shorten the business end ( of the roller shaft! )to approx. 2"
With your favorite hacksaw, make a small groove for a circlip
- made out of a AN936-A416 lock washer, that is cut slightly down on
the O.D. with your favorite metal sheers
Using your favorite pliers, secure the circlip in the groove
Using your favorite AN960-416 washers and AN936-A416 lock washers, slide
on one flat washer, one lock washer, one flat washer, one lock washer and
keep doing that until the shaft is almost filled up. Leave approx. 1/8"
of the shaft free.
Secure the washers on the shaft the Jacko way; just beat it! - Your
favorite hammer will be suitable for this purpose.
Bend the upper part of the shaft to your favorite shape
DONE! You now have what will very soon become your favorite favorite!
It is even better than the modified tongue depression and I, for one, haven´t
had more fun since my mum in law broke her leg!
NOTE 1: The lock washers between the flat washers is a must! If they
are not
there, your new airbubble roller is a onetimer, because of the gooeyty
of the epoxy. You simply can´t clean the roller because the plain
washers will stick together so the acetone can´t get in between and
do its job!
NOTE 2: This is one place where automotive parts could be used without
significant risk!
NOTE 3: Spend 5 minutes making this tool and the quality of your layups
will improve dramatically! Besides, it might save you enough time to remove
the pink paint stains from your stairway.
Best regards
Tim Jorgensen
360 / 8%
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