: I've heard everything from one week to three months as the recommended cure
: time before varnishing or painting. Is there a generally accepted minimim
: time? . . .

At a minimum the epoxy has to be hard enough to be sanded, as you will need to remove any drips,runs or high spots, and lightly sand it overall to prepare a base for the varnish. this overall sanding, and the removal of residue through use of a tack rag, or a water rinse, removes any "blush" that may be on the surface of the epoxy.

Temperature has a lot to do with how long you have to wait. If you baked the boat for a while in a heat box you could accelerate the cure, and varnish it the next day. If you are working outdoors on an iceflow in the arctic, you might have to wait a few seasons.

If you are working on your boat on weekends, finish epoxying your boat on one weekend and varnish it on the next one.

: . . . Also,what happens if I don't wait long enough.Thanks in advance.

hehehe. That's easy: You just have to sand it and varnish it again the next year. But then again, you are going to do that anyway.

PGJ