jetra2
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I just finished (ok, yesterday) making some great looking fillets. Using a combination of techniques from around the web and magazine articles, I used these tools and supplies to make these fillets.
Then I followed these steps to make the fillets.
- Finishing (Thin) Epoxy
- Microballoon filler
- Plastic Spoon
- Masking Tape
- Rubbing Alcohol
- Latex gloves
Then I followed these steps to make the fillets.
- Put on some protective gloves. I used latex gloves.
- At the front end of the fins, run a piece of masking tape right at the tips, all the way across.
- On the fin and on the body, run lengths of masking tape to define the borders of your fillets. I approximated a 1/4", but I didn't measure it. Make sure the tape is straight!
- Mix up appropriate amount of epoxy for fillets. On my fillets, which were about 9" long, I used about 10mL of epoxy for two
- Mix in enough Microballoons to make the epoxy thick. Referencing the West System epoxy users guide, I ended up with a thickness between ketchup and mayo.
- Make sure all this is mixed in THOROUGHLY!
- Now pour a nice, thick bead of the epoxy/microballoon mix into the valley of the soon-to-be fillet. Don't worry about getting excess on the masking tape.
- Using the plastic spoon's backside (not the scoop side) run it from the forward part of the fillet to the back. Use a gentle angle on the spoon so that you don't scoop too much epoxy out. Don't worry if you do. Just quickly move it to the front of the fillet and let it drip back into the fillet, and run it back through at a shallower angle.
- Using the rubbing alcohol and your finger, DRIP a little bit of the alcohol onto the fillet, then gently rub the spoon over the fillet again, this time at almost a flat angle. This step thins the top bit of epoxy out and gives a glass-smooth finish.
- Now let the epoxy cure for at least 90 minutes, then you can gently remove the masking tape from the edge. This will allow the thickened epoxy, set but still flexible, to fill in that gap you see.
- That's one way to do it. You also can leave the masking tape on for eight hours and then just remove the tape. If you do it this way, you'll likely be left with a bit of masking tape stuck under the fillet. To remedy this, just use your hobby knife to cut straight down the fillet and pry the masking tape up.
- From this point, if you are happy with the fillet, leave it alone. If not, you can sand the fillet easily with some 220 grit to start.
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I hope this will help some people when they start making fillets.
Jason