: I am progressing fairly well on restoring the ol Cape Charles 18
: "Moose". (She has moose images on the hatch covers.) I have the
: hatches reinforced with strips that go sheer to sheer. And per LeeG, I
: added another support halfway between the cockpit bulkhead and the aft
: hatch. The boat is so much stiffer in those areas now, it's really great.
: I've cut out and glued on the coaming. 2 days ago I precoated the coaming
: with epoxy, and last night I put on a layer fiberglass. I tinted the epoxy
: black (manufacture's pigment). I'm using System Three epoxy. My question
: is related to the cure time. When I checked on it this morning, it seemed
: to be not as stiff as I would have expected it to be. It was dry, but
: still flexible? I think the way I would describe it would be like hard
: rubber? Does epoxy with pigments take longer to cure?
: Next question is how many coats should I put on? I am thinking 3. Do they all
: need to be tinted? or just go regular after the first (or second)?

One problem with tinting epoxy is to insure that the epoxy is well mixed before any tint is added. It's impossible to see the color change that occurs with mixing the two parts of epoxy once the tint is added. If it's not completely mixed you might or might not get a total cure.

Bill H.