Ok, All the stripping is done and it’s time to start with the epoxy. Nick’s book recommends applying a filler coat of epoxy before putting on the cloth. I understand the reason for this primer coat. I’ve had raw wood soak up all the epoxy and starve the cloth leaving white spots.

I’m using west 105 and it is very thick. The book suggests thinning the epoxy but no one out here seems to know what to thin it with. I put a thin coat on yesterday and put some more on today. I’ll wind up sanding most of the epoxy off to get a fair surface to apply the cloth to. Lot’s of drips and runs. There has got to be a better way.

We use Smith’s Penetrating Epoxy in our wooden boat restorations. It seems like I would have been better off to brush on a coat of penetrating epoxy and avoid all the sanding.

Anyone know what I did wrong and how I can avoid all this sanding in the future?