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Your Host and Tour Guide:
Paul Oman, MS, MBA - Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc.
Member: NACE (National Assoc. of Corrosion Engineers), SSPC (Soc. of Protective Coatings)
"Professionals helping Professionals"
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Fiberglass boat hulls are subject to the formation of blisters within the fiberglass hull layers below the waterline. These blisters vary in size, but all represent a damage site to your hull. The blisters are a result of moisture being absorbed into the fiberglass, probably due to sites of less then perfectly cured fiberglass polyester resins. A smelly, watery fluid fills the blisters and may actually squirt out when the blister is punctured.
Repair and prevention are topics of much debate. Repairs range from the complex to the simple. One end of the spectrum consists of sealing the boat in an airtight bag and using commercial dehumidifiers to suck out all moisture in the hull followed by completely cutting out the blister and repairing as one would repair a hole in the hull. Many people will let a hull dry out for weeks after lancing and opening a blister. On the other end of the spectrum, some people will do little more than lance a blister and almost immediately putty over it.
Prevention currently consists of applying several thin barrier coats of epoxy to the hull. Epoxies are less porous than the polyester resins used in production fiberglass boats.
Using various space-age, water-displacing, proprietary epoxies, Progressive Products, Inc., distributors of marine and industrial epoxy products has developed a system to both treat and help prevent blisters. The system is quick and easy and allows users to also include more extensive repair procedures should they deem ti necessary. We believe our system offers a suitable solution to most blister situations. Ultimately however, it is the boat owner that must decide how extensively to repair blister damage.
The Blis-Coat System consists of the following steps:
1) Open up the blister and remove the mostly heavily damaged surrounding fiberglass using a metal file bit (rasp bit) with an electric drill. As the blisters are generally filled with liquid expect a mushy mass of fiberglass dust to fill the area. Suitable protection should be taken to shield exposed skin, mouth, eyes, throat from the resulting fiberglass particles that this drilling/grinding will release.
2) Thoroughly flush the blisters with water either from a water-blaster unit or garden hose. The object is to remove any residual chemical contaminants as well as fiberglass and resin dust.
3) You may wish to repeat the grinding and washing step above until you are personally satisfied with how well you have opened each blister and removed the worst of the fiberglass damage.
4) Let the blisters dry so that all obvious loose droplets and signs of moisture have evaporated..
5) Using our thin water-displacing, two-part epoxy resin (Low V) and a paint brush vigorously rub/brush/push/swab resin into each opened blister. Work quickly, pot life is about 20 minutes. This special epoxy will displace any trapped water (literally bonding and curing underwater if necessary) and penetrate any loose or open fiberglass around the blister. Let cure overnight or longer.
6) Patch and fill in the blisters, as well as any other necessary boat bottom repairs, with our WET DRY 700 epoxy putty. Fill the blisters using a putty knife or plastic edger. Perform any final filling/sanding/smoothing over the blisters in preparation for applying anti-fouling paint or optional barrier coat (see our products page for barrier coat epoxies).
Blisters are caused by chemicals in the polyester resins that are not completely reacted and have an affinity for water molecules — literally pulling the water into the hull (much like some of the blistering of paints and coatings). There is always some water vapor in any hull. No non-metallic hull is completely impermeable, but when the resins are completely reacted that water vapor has no effect. Long dry-out periods will reduce the water vapor content of your hull, although the actual benefit might be insignificant.
The boat yards I'm aware of simply grind out the entire blister and patch the area, all within a few days using fiberglass cloth and high quality epoxy resins.
With our blister repair system you open the blisters and flush out the chemical/resin/water filling them. Rather than completely grinding out ALL the weakened fiberglass (no reason why you cannot do this) we're stabilizing the remaining weakened fiberglass with our water displacing epoxies. These epoxies can literally be applied underwater. They ‘push' the water away — the path of least resistance is the open blister. Even if left within the hull the water mini-droplet (without the unreacted resins) shouldn't cause a blister or create any problem.
In short, we believe our system is a quick, adequate method for dealing with hull blisters and one that even inexperienced and impatient boat owners can easily master.
Link to our products page - your source for the Blister Repair products. (the products are no longer sold as a
'kit'
purchase each separately --- i.e. low v clear epoxy, wet dry 700 thickened epoxy paste) -
See our page on Barrier Coats after you've fixed
your blisters! CLICK
HERE
Knowledge is Power - We like informed consumers!
Learn the basics of epoxy at our educational EPOXY 101 page - Click Here.
Finally, email us back with your questions or comments before you buy - EMAIL HERE
Comments from 3rd-party book on hull blisters and barrier coats -
click here