Hi Dwight;

Well, I'm kind of learning while doing on this my first kayak - I use a squegee for wetting out the glass, it works great for me. Fast and easy to leave a nice properly wet surface. The first fill coat on both hull & deck called for a brush, so I could work the resin into the weave, it allowed me scrub it in. On any subsequent coat(s) the roller seems easiest. The weave is mostly filled, and I find it easiest with 1/2 of a West roller. I don't think it's so important as to what tool(s) you use, just getting the glass properly wet out initially, and then filling to a smooth surface is your goal. Be sure to experiment and use what works best for you. If you asked 5 people what works best, they'd all give different answers.

I use 60 grit disks in my ROS between coats, and I use 60 grit on my fairing board as well. The fairing board leaves scratches, so I go over it lightly afterward with the ROS which removes them sufficiently for the next coat. The important point here is that if you don't want a wavy surface, you have to add material and fair it with the longer sanding board. As other posters have pointed out, varnish will not fair! The coats are too thin to be of any practical value. It better be flat before you ever get to the varnish stage. With a kayak and a clear finish, other than the underlying wood, the epoxy is the only medium we have for getting a fair surface.

Just prior to the first varnish coat, I'll grade up to a finer finish. An experiment or two will be called for, it depends on what grit the thinned varnish will fill and cover. I would think the coarsest grit the varnish will hide would offer the best mechanical adhesion. I'll let you know when I get there!

Hope this helps, Best Regards, Spidey