Here's a trick to help get a fine finish. Clean any amine blush off
as others have said, but then just hit the high spots with a ROS or
pad sander. Don't try to sand all the epoxy off to get to the bottom
of those orange peel "valleys." You don't have to be too fussy about
getting all the sanded epoxy dust off the surface when you are done
either; just brush it off casually. Get a "Bondo" plastic auto body
spreader, which is a flexible plastic spreader available at any auto
parts store. Mix up one ounce of epoxy, and pour it out on the
surface, and use the plastic spreader to apply a very thin coat of
epoxy. A "skim coat" if you will. As you spread it out over a good
sized area,3 to 4 square feet of area, it will pick up the epoxy dust
and turn a milky white, thickening it just slightly. This is a
wonderful technique to fill in "orange peel" valleys and other small
imperfections. When cured, you will once again have a very smooth
surface.

Another tip: use a cabinet scraper instead of sand paper on the
epoxy. A cabinet scraper is a thin piece of steel that has a sharp
edge on it. Held almost vertical, and then dragged along the surface,
you'll find many of those long thin ridges peeling off easily. You
can buy them at stores like Woodworkers Warehouse. I do this before
sanding, and it really cuts down on the sanding I have to do, and in
some cases eliminates it.

On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 08:03:31 -0400, "jleiby"
wrote:

I am building a S&G kayak and I am finding that as I build up layers of
epoxy the finish tends to 'orange peel' and requires a lot of sanding to get
it smooth. The first coats of epoxy went on flat.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

John


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