WhiskeyRiver

Anyone care to share tips or tricks on how to easily Sand/prep hatch gutters for paint.

so far I’ve been using a 1/2” block of starboard with the edges rounded over 1/8”...... works okay at best.

73Stamas

I used a 2x4 and routerd the edges and spray glued the sand paper . My mistake was that the block i was using wasnt large enough to cover all of the surface to be sanded and it made small grooves, i corrected it by just using hand and sand paper. It took a lot of time to get it right but came out pretty good.

surv

I use a 1/4" dia. wood dowel cut about 4" long. Gutters are always a pain to sand though, rubber dipped gloves make a difference.

Jaizzen

Get a beer, and hand sand.

Boatbutcher

or two... and turn the radio up

sea hare

3M makes a sanding pad (similar to a Scotchbrite pad) i'm not sure how coarse they are available, but for fine finish sanding they supplement sandpaper in a worthwhile way. Like a Scotchbrite pad they conform to shapes nicely. This surely isn't the total answer but might be helpful. I'm using them now to sand corners end round edges on consoles and seat boxes that I made and I find them helpful. Good luck.

richinct

For areas like that I cut pieces of pool noodle close to the profile of the channel and wrap the sand paper around it

absolutetrip

I use something I call fartrock it smells like sulfur I have seen them for sale to clean grills before, well it wears down real fast, you sand with the raw fart rock whatever shape your working on and it will quickly becomes that form. Then take whatever grit sand paper you are working with and put it around the now fitting form of what you are sanding. I built all kinds of fiberglass plugs for years and always kept a supply of fart rock it will leave a 100 gritish finish by itself.

73Stamas

I like the fartrock idea, anything with a name like that has to work

1 down, 5 more to go.

Hatfield32804

Lay plastic sheeting so that its sitting snug against gutter channel and lays up inside and outside of hatch.

Mix up 2 part expanding pour foam, pour into guttter. Let cure. Cut top flush with top of hatch gutter. Remove.

I add a handle that allows control of your new sanding block from above the gutter.

Spray adhesive #77 and 9 x 11 3M 732 sheets. Throw em both in trash when sandpaper is done. Grab a new piece and get back to work.

kwb74

When I worked in the bodyshop as a kid - the guys there called them shit bricks. I had forgotten all about those until you mentioned them and can see the filthy bag they were in the corner of the shop behind the bondo dispenser. Nobody liked using them but once in a while it is the right tool for the job. I think it was usually the 3-4 small ribs that used to be in the body sides of the mid-late 70's era Mercedes that were the challenge.