Using a Mercury 15 on a 22 Oday

[Brian S]

That transom looks like it's been painted, and the paint is flaking off.

Do you intend to smooth out the pad area from the old wedge with Marine Tex? I don't know that I would use that for a fairing compound. It gets pretty hard and more difficult to sand once it's cured all the way.

A better choice for filling and fairing might be epoxy mixed with West Systems 407 low density filler http://www.westsystem.com/ss/filler-selection-guide/

 

[davidmhull]

You may be absolutely correct Brian. Someone said Bondo would work but that sounds a little flakey although it does hold up on cars if it isn't applied too thick. The paint is really badly chipped as you can see and is beyond just sanding. I need some kind of filler that isn't going to fall off. I heard someone even suggest epoxy and fine sawdust. Whatever I use it will be quite thin, really just the thickness of the paint applied with a putty knife and then sanded down with a DA sander. If I can believe the sales blurb on the marine tex it says "goes on like putty, hardens like steel and sands like wood". That may be complete BS but I will certainly try it on a piece of scrap first. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm hoping this marine tex will go on something like sheet rock mud and sand fairly easily. The title of this thread was getting a bit misleading so I started another one on the same subject of replacing the motor mount. As far as the "using a 15 hp mercury" is concerned......well that ship has sailed as they say. Thanks so much for your help.

 

[Chief RA]

Try sanding and just primer paint if fills are that thin. Chief

 

[Sunbird22358]

Filling and fairing, was:Re: Using a Mercury 15 on a 22 Oday

I have found that MARINE-TEX does sand pretty easy, the trick may be to sand as soon as it gets firm (doesn't take long in my experience) I've made several repairs to fix chips in the hull-deck joint on my DS II (no rub-rail, hull-deck joint more or less is the gunwale) and it smoothed up nice and faired in easy using fine sandpaper and then rubbing compound. The white color isn't too far off from the "Light-tan" color of my 1979 gelcoat (faded after 35 years). I have tried tinting the Marine-Tex using gel coat tints, with limited sucess, might have tired to use too much tinting agent.

However, If I were coating a surface (like that wedge) I'd be more likely to use WEST System Epoxy, fist a thin coat of unthickened resin, then follow immediately with a coat thickened with their Fairing filler (207, I think?) It is a very fine tan powder that creates an easy to sand filler when mixed with the WEST Sustem epoxy resin.

 

[Brian S]

I wouldn't use wood flour (basically, sanding dust sold in a can) to thicken epoxy for a filling job like that. However, I would use it on WOOD.

You might do well to address the transom finish issues, and then worry about filling and fairing the motor bracket area. I mean, if you're going to have to do the whole surface of the transom, and take that paint down to gelcoat to start over properly, the fewer things you have in the way, the easier it will be.

OR! Just slap that new wedgie on there that you're making, and go sailing instead.

 

[davidmhull]

Thanks so much for all your help guys. I've kind of moved this discussion to a new thread more in keeping with what I am trying to do now (replacing the motor mount). Thanks again.