Paul,

check that the epoxy from FGI is meant for saturating wood and giving a clear finish. That's what WEST, MAS, System 3 etc are specifically designed for. There is a local manufacturer (BoatCraft Pacific, Loganholme, Queensland) who do make a choice of epoxies for clear finish wood/fibreglass boats. They have a complete system, with a saturating wood preserver, various epoxies for various temperatures, a UV-resistant hardener and compatible one-part polyurethane clear and coloured varnishes. Their epoxy costs a little more than the no-name, but a lot less than WEST or Sytem 3.

I have used their products for my Shearwater S&G Baidarka, now nearing completion.

If you are dealing with FGI, then are you in Sydney? Trend Timbers in Richmond are the local dealers for BoteCote epoxy products.

Andrew Eddy

: Hi All,

: I just rang a local fiber-glass supplier to get some prices, He said
: something about using peel ply and then you don't have to sand, this of
: course made me sit-up and take notice. He couldn't go into great detail
: because his customers were getting a little p__sed at him chatting on the
: phone to me.

: So my question: what is peel ply, and can it be used when glassing a hull?
: what are the results?

: Not having to sand so much would be great, but something tells me this has
: got to be too good to be true....

: As an aside; These guy's also manufacture epoxies-50% cheaper than the other
: stuff I've been using (International Epiglass), the guy said it was as
: good as anything on the market, but then he's being paid to say so.

: I think it pays to hunt down local manufacturers; prices seem much lower, as
: long as the quality is there, you can't lose.

: Paul.