QuikFair from System Three Resins

I have owned a Shellback dinghy since it was new, having bought it from a gentleman in New Hampshire who had built it for the love of building and with no intention of holding on to it. It’s a beautiful little plywood boat and the quality of build is excellent, but I have no idea what paint he used. On the day I went to look at the boat I asked about the finishes, and he was vague in his answers; he had used a bit of this, a bit of that…all “exterior paints.” Despite the lack of provenance, it has held up well.

The boat is now 10 years old and has spent every summer alongside a busy sailing-club dock in salt water. Most years, I’ve sanded down the topcoat and refinished above the waterline with a layer of Epifanes Yacht Enamel, and below the waterline with antifouling paint. This year, when I went to give it the customary sanding, I noticed the paint had some small linear cracks running parallel to the wood grain. As I scraped at them, most remained as small cracks, but some flaked away to uncover more substantial spots. I realized I had two choices: either take everything down to bare wood—which I was reluctant to do because it was a big job for a small problem and apart from those few cracks the rest of the paint was in good shape—or diligently scrape and sand the problem areas until they were stable and then fair them with a light filler.

Photographs by the author

When I started work on the hull it became obvious that the small linear cracks in the lower topsides plywood panel were not going to be sanded out.

I decided on the latter option, but was unsure what to use for a filler. I had recently finished some work on an interior wall in my house where I had extensively used spackle, a defect-filling putty that dries quickly and is very easy to sand. That was what I needed for the boat: the marine equivalent of spackle.

The QuikFair spread easily—filling cracks and adhering well—even though I had not removed all of the old finish.

At my local marine hardware store, I described the project in hand and was recommended QuikFair, a two-part epoxy-based fairing compound from System Three Resins. The manufacturer describes it as “a lightweight, microballoon-filled, fast-curing two-part epoxy fairing putty with excellent moisture resistance.” It can be used above or below the waterline, and can be applied to bare wood, epoxy-coated wood, polyester resin, and steel. I bought the 1.5-pint pack.

Applying QuikFair

The kit contains a 16-fl-oz tub of resin—light purple in color—and an 8-fl-oz tub of white hardener; both are low-odor and solvent free. The instructions on the box are minimal but, as it turns out, are all that is needed. The two parts can be mixed by volume—2:1—or by weight—100:44. Having no way to measure accurately by volume, I decided to measure by weight and, needing only a little, weighed out 12.5g of resin to 5.5g of hardener. When thoroughly mixed together, the compound turned a pale-pink and to a consistency described by System Three as “butter-like,” but which I think seemed more like spreadable cream cheese.

It was easy to work. Because I was applying it to such a small area, I used a 1″ putty knife, but over a larger area would have used a wider 2″ flexible plastic spreader. The putty spread easily and filled even the smallest of indents and cracks. The instructions say that QuikFair allows for 10–15 minutes of working time; I was only working for about 7 minutes and in that time, the mixture showed no sign of curing; the last application spread as smoothly as the first.

After sanding the QuikFair and then applying two coats of yacht enamel the cracks had disappeared.

The manufacturer states that at 70°F QuikFair is sufficiently cured to be hand-sanded in three hours or machine-sanded in four hours. The temperature in the garage where I was working was, at best, around 60°F, but after three hours the putty was dry to the touch. I waited until the next day before sanding to a smooth finish using 240-grit paper. The cured compound sanded to powder and didn’t clog the sandpaper. I primed after three days (I later read the note that said full cure time at 70°F is four days). The primer dried and covered equally on the faired areas as elsewhere, but when I applied topcoat—several days later—I noticed that in those areas treated with QuikFair, the enamel needed more time to cure until no longer tacky and required an extra coat to get an even gloss.

The QuikFair two-part system: 8 oz of hardener to 16 oz resin. With no way to measure accurately by volume, I used a small scale and weighed out in grams—a little went a very long way.

I was pleased with the product. For an inexperienced user it was forgiving and easy to work and did exactly what I wanted, making the topsides of my dinghy look almost as good as new.

Jenny Bennett is editor of Small Boats.QuikFair is available from marine hardware stores and direct from System Three Resins, in several sizes. The smallest, 1.5 pints, is listed at $42.95. 

Is there a product that might be useful for boatbuilding, cruising, or shore-side camping that you’d like us to review? Please email your suggestions.