: Howdy y'all, being the learning mutant that I am, I've run into a little
: trouble and am not sure of the best remedy. I put down a thin coat of
: Minwax Helmsman urethane varnish on a Tern yesterday afternoon, and many
: sections were still quite sticky this morning. The problem areas seem to
: be independent of the age of the epoxy, ie., some areas where the epoxy
: was only a few days old were fine, and other areas that were months old
: were gooey. I sanded the epoxy before application, but did not use soap
: and water to clean it before I began. My solution thus far was to hoist
: the thing up to the ceiling (more heat), cranked the furnace, and let it
: sit for another six hours. Still lots of sticky areas, others that are
: nice and rock-hard. I then took mineral spirits and a rag to the surface,
: and removed what I thought was all gooey areas. Then I washed the whole
: boat with soap/water, and just sanded it with 220. The result is that I am
: still detecting some soft varnish areas.
: Is it easier/better to apply more solvent, or keep trying to sand off the
: soft varnish?
: What do you think was the original cause? Residue from the epoxy curing
: process, maybe candle wax dripped from secret Warlock meetings held
: clandestinely in my shop? Most importantly, will it likely be
: "safe" to reapply the varnish after getting the old gunk off, or
: am I (the consummate newbie) missing something important?
: Thank you for any timely posts, as I shall have made my next mistake within
: about the next 4 hours. Putting this thing in the water Friday, and
: whether I'm glued into the cockpit is of no consequence.

: Cheers to all,
: Bob

Go over it with alcohol and medium steel wool to remove the finish.

Rob