KEVLAR SKID PLATE INSTALLATION
PREP WORK
Turn the Canoe upside down and support it at a comfortable working height. Cover an area with masking tape starting 4” up from the deck and 6” on either side of the centerline and extending about 40” toward the bottom on both ends.
Using small pieces of tape position the Kevlar strips over the masking tape on the centerline of the Canoe with the narrow part toward the ends of the Canoe and about 6” to 8” up from the deck. Using a marker draw a line around the outside of the Kevlar. Cut the masking tape around the outside of the mark leaving about a ¼” gap between the Kevlar and the cut. Remove the Kevlar and the masking tape inside the cut. Sand to remove surface gloss, wipe down with clean water or Acetone.
APPLYING THE KEVLAR
For small skid plates pour 80ml Ark resin into a mixing container add 40ml Ark hardener on top, and mix thoroughly. For large (Royalex) mix 100ml resin with 50 ml hardener. Use the mixed Epoxy within 10 to 15 minutes.
Brush a thin layer onto the masked off area, place one of the skid plates on the wet resin, and position and smooth using gloved hands and the brush being careful not to overlap the masking tape. Use a brush to work all the remaining mixed epoxy into the Kevlar. Repeat for the other piece of Kevlar.
IMPORTANT! The resin should start to feel tacky to the touch in 1 to 2 hours. Remove the masking tape, pulling away from the skid plate. If you allow the Epoxy to cure hard before removing the tape you will have to sand the tape off.
FINISHING
The surface of the Skid Plate will be very rough when cured hard. You can leave it rough, or for a smoother surface mask around the edges of the cured skid plate, and sand to take off the pointy bits. Do not try to sand completely smooth. Mix 40ml resin and 20ml hardener, and brush a thin coat onto the sanded skid plates. Remove tape as soon as the resin becomes tacky.
PIGMENTING EPOXY
You can use ARK Universal Pigments to color any Epoxy or Polyester Resin. Do not use Oil or Polyester based Gelcoat pigments in Epoxy. Pour all (8oz) of the ARK resin into a separate mixing container. Add a maximum of 7% pigment to the resin only, color all the resin in the kit. Mix with hardener as needed to pigment epoxy when installing skid plates. Light colors do not cover well so you may need 1 or 2 build-up coats to make it opaque.
COLOR MATCHING TIPS
Most Canoes and Kayaks are a solid color so a good match can be achieved using primary colors, ARK Red, Yellow and Green pigments. Because of differences in gloss level and texture close is usually good enough.
For challenging colours, art store color wheels, phone apps, or online color matching tools are easy to use.