> I am having troubles with the varnish drying on my first kayak. I put the
> varnish on 5 days ago and it is still tacky. The places where it has dried
> it look scaly. If I try to sand it, the sandpaper gums up immediatly.

> I put the varnish on over System 3 Epoxy. I thoroughly sanded the kayak
> with 150 and 220 grit sandpaper after letting the epoxy cure for 3 - 5
> weeks. (some parts of the boat have cured longer than others) I cleaned
> the sanding dust with cheesecloth moistened with Interlux Brushing Liquid
> 333, then dry wiped it with cheesecloth again. The varnish is Interlux
> Schooner 96, thinned 10% with Interlux Brushing Liquid 333. I probably
> should not have thinned it, but it is too late now. It is over 70 degrees
> and quite dry in my basement.

> Pygmy recommends ZSPAR's Flagship Varnish, but I was unable to find it in
> the stores around here. The people at the local boat shop don't know much
> about putting varnish over fiberglass.

> I'm stumped as to what to do. Should I try to remove it? How? Wait for it
> to cure, sand it down and revarnish it? Should I use a different varnish?

It looks to me that you did not remove the amine blush (waxy buidup) that is a by product of the epoxy reaction. The best way I have found is to use an amonia based household cleaner. We have a product here called Handy Andy. I give the surface a good scrub with the cleaner and a small amount of warm water then clean off with clean warm water and allow to dry. I have no idea what brushing liquid is. But if it is not a white spirit or mineral terpentine then it could be the problem.

If it still has not dried then you will have to scrape off the mess sand with an open weave alumina sander (with care) then clean and sand with water paper, repair any glass and epoxy problems then start all over again

Rob