Paul Jackman and Kristin Browne
Some of the biggest names in the Maker community join us to talk all about TotalBoat Epoxy products. We had the privelage of having on our live Kristin Brown, Director of Brand Ambasadors and Events at TotalBoat and Paul Jackman, famously known for Making Fun on Netflix, Jackman_works on Youtube and Instagram, and his oversized maker creations.
TotalBoat is a well known epoxy supplier in the Maker world but not everyone know where the business got its start. They provide all the epoxy's, adhesives, and paints for the boating world; hence the name. Located in Rhode Island, they are in the center of a huge boating community, but provide products and services everywhere.
Paul and Kristin demonstrate some of the many products used on refinishing or maintaining boats. In this live, we are mesmerized to see how to prepare a wooden kayak that Paul and the team had hand built in only 2 days. The wooden kayak needed some simple repairs and refinishing so we were excited to see how to do this. Paul uses TotalFair Epoxy Fairing Compound to stabilize some wood damage and rot. This product is similar to bondo but in an epoxy product. It stabilizes very hard but yet is very sand-able which help boaters and fiberglass repair in automotive to fix any imperfections in wood, gel coat, or fiberglass projects. If you haven't seen our TMCU Mini School bus video, check it out to see how we used fairing compound to patch some areas in our fiberglass body. We used all TotalBoat products in the making of the bus, even down to the yellow WetEdge Paint.
Now what gives a wooden boat its strength and waterproofing is fiberglass. It is a lightweight material yet very strong when applied with epoxy. TotalBoat offers several thickness' of fiberglass sheets and can be ordered in several widths and lengths depending on your project needs. Paul and Kristin had a small wooden kayak that they demonstrated with on applying fiberglass sheeting. The sheets can easily be cut with a knife or scissors but the easiest and really the most fun way to cut it is with the electric cordless scissors that TotalBoat offers.
By laying out the sheet and cutting it to rough size needed, you can visualize how the project will go. A lot of people think this is a very difficult part of any boat build, but Paul assures us that it's actually a simple and in some ways therapeutic process. Laying it out and smoothing it down to the boat with your hand is the first step but applying the epoxy is where the fun begins. They use TotalBoat High Performance Epoxy with the fiberglass sheet to create a good bond and adhere the sheeting to the surface. Once you have your fiberglass across your surface, pour a liberal amount of high performance epoxy over the sheet and begin working it in with a scraper or brush. Its is important to work the epoxy into the mesh of the fiberglass and start working it from the center of the project out. You want to keep pouring and working the epoxy in while forcing any air bubbles out. Its a continuous process of applying epoxy and scraping until your happy with how the fiberglass lays down and there are no wrinkles or bubbles left.
This can easily be done around corners and bends in your project as well. And don't worry about overlaps in fiberglass or bends on corners too much. That can all be sanded smooth in between coats of epoxy or after your final pour. There is a working time of usually around 30 mins with high performance slow hardener depending on how much you mix up at a time. You can always do small pours and sections of your project at a time if needed. Depending on your project, you will apply usually one layer of fiberglass and epoxy then followed by a second layer of just epoxy.
TotalBoat offers several products to protect your finished boat or product. Kristin explains how UV is the most damaging to boats and outdoor furniture. Even more damaging than the salt water a boat may live in. It is important to finish and protect your projects from UV rays by applying products like Gleam or Halcyon Varnish. 6-8 coats of these products can last a long time, but its said that the sun can remove 1-2 layers of finish every year. So for important projects like boats, its a yearly maintenance plan to always apply a finish on your boats to have that continual protection.
What a very fun and educational live to have such experts in this field demonstrate to us during a boat repair. It's such a satisfying process to watch and really makes you want to get out in the shop and build a boat. If you want to follow more with Paul Jackman you can follow him here on Instagram, Youtube, and his website. Follow along with all that TotalBoat is doing and has to offer here on Instgram, Youtube, and their website.
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