I don't know if it's completely necessary, but I put a final epoxy coat on after feathering the ragged edges. However, epoxy or varnish will make the glass go clear again.

I took my Guillemot out before varnishing and without skid strips. I managed to paddle over some submerged rocks and heard/felt the dreaded hull scrapes. Later, when I examined the damage, I found many long scrapes that went down to the glass, but didn't penetrate, so no biggy. But, only one of them would have been prevented by a skid strip, the rest were way off the keel line. So I wouldn't go to the expense/trouble of using kevlar when the strip may not prevent many scratches. Polypropelene is cheap and probably easier to sand when/if you need to replace the strip.

> Not having every sanded epoxy/cloth composites, I am curious as to what I
> can expect and what finish should be desired. Given that the weave is
> completely filled and the goal is a fair surface, what happens when you
> feather down the unwanted the glass strands at the 2nd cloth layer's edge?
> I imagine that area will now be white where the glassed has been sanded.
> Does varnishing recover the finish in this area or do you need to apply
> another coat of epoxy to recover the finish?

> Also, any recommendations on skid cloth material? Kevlar and Poly are more
> resistant to abrasion but I believe they do not wet out clear.

> Thanks, Randy