I'm anxious to get my boat in the water before I varnish, so I sent off a question to Gougeon Brothers (West System epoxy) asking for their opinion of the risks. I wanted to hear from the horses mouth about potential UV damage from short term use. I thought the response would be of interest to the group, so here it is.

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Mr. Leidy,

Thank you for contacting us regarding your stripper kayak.

I built a stripper kayak 15 years ago and although stored inside, I've used it many times and have often left it sitting on a bank all day in the sunshine. The exterior is varnished one coat of Z-Spar Captains varnish, but the cockpit interior is un-varnished WEST SYSTEM epoxy and I've seen no ill effects to this unprotected area dispite much ultra violet light exposure.

Your new kayak's clear finish should be fine for a short period - say two weeks - as long as no extended period of direct exposure occurs. (Its not unlike using sun block on your skin).

Another potential risk of an un-varnished epoxy coating is a susceptibility to turn cloudy when exposed to water. This is much less of a problem with #207 Hardener than say #206 but some hazing could occur. Much depends on how long the coating has had to cure. Minimum time prior to floating the boat should be on the order of 3 days at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Some exposure to warmer temperatures - 80 or 90 and low humidity for an hour or two would help.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us and we will try to assist.

Sincerely,

GOUGEON BROTHERS, INC.

James R. Watson Technical Advisor

-- ================================ Gougeon Brothers, Inc. 100 Patterson Ave. P.O. Box 908 Bay City, MI 48707-0908, U.S.A. tel: 517-684-7286 fax: 517-684-1287 URL: http://www.gougeon.com/ ================================