Hi All,

I am just curious if anyone else works the epoxy at the semi-cured "green" stage. I do a lot of "cleanup" with a carbide bladed paint scraper when the epoxy is still soft and easily worked - saves a ton of effort later.

Visited a friend yesterday who was busy sanding/cursing the epoxy drips on his hull. Since the epoxy had only just cured I suggested that he scrape the drips and wait a day or two before sanding. We were discussing the various stages of epoxy cure. I thought this might be of general interest so I am posting them for comment.

I think of epoxy in several states:

LIQUID - the normal state as mixed.

THINNED - heated with a hot air gun after application to improve penetration into wood.

KICKED - the resin is no longer workable.

GREEN - semi-cured, not hard yet and surface may be slightly tacky - prime time to scrape off drips and feather tape edges.

SET - surface is firm [can still be dented with a fingernail] and ready for next coat of resin.

CURED - surface is hard, a sanding with coarse paper may be required before applying more resin. The epoxy is still too soft for best sanding.

FULL CURE - surface is at maximum hardness and ready for sanding [minimum clogging of sandpaper] - typically takes a couple of days to reach.

FINAL CURE - the resin is ready for painting/varnishing - the chance of any adverse chemical reaction is past. I have varnished after a week but prefer to wait two or three weeks.

I look over every coat of resin at the green stage of cure and scrape off any drips, bumps and bugs. This way the surface is as flat as possible before applying the next layer of resin. There is enough sanding to do without adding to it.

Hope this is of interest.

Hank