> 2. I coated the hatch cover with "Butchers Wax" having heard
> that it works as a mold release. I had to do a lot of prying with a putty
> knife to get the hatch off after 6 hours. It didn't seem that the wax
> helped much. Anyone got a better way to do this? plastic wrap maybe?

I bought a $7 bottle of PVA mold release from West Marine which worked really well when I was making a fiberglass seat. It still took a little patience in breaking the bond, but everything finally released.