Hi Mark;

Hey, no problem in asking questions, that's what this is all about for all of us. I post stuff like this hoping some guru will pop up and enlighten me - - And it's happened many times.

The epoxy I used was Ding-All Ultra Clear, mfd. in Florida and used by surfboard mfrs worldwide. If you searched "Ding-All" on this forum you'd see all of my Q&A over the last year. The resins, both epoxy and polyester, sit in the sun most of their lives with these surfboards, so a prime requisite is to provide LOTS of UV protection. The polyester resin was obtained from a 55 gal drum at the mfr, I paid $15 for a gallon and my friend only knew they'd used the same stuff for years, not sure of the mfr. I could find out for you, it didn't seem very important at the time. Likewise with the wax/styrene mixture. I suspect my "mix in a gallon milk jug" was improper or contaminated. The boards that company makes look like they're coated in liquid glass - again, I think I got unlucky, and choose not to push the envelope any more for the time being.

The reason we dont use PR on kayaks is that it is not waterproof, but rather porous. Until the advent of epoxy, fiberglassed boats had to leave one wood surface unglassed so as to let the wood dry out. To cover both sides of a panel was to invite dry rot or worse, so one side was always painted. Epoxy really encapsulates a wood panel, as long as you apply enough coats to eliminate pinholes & what-not. Epoxy is also "tougher" and stronger than PR, because it does not get as hard, but stays figuratively "leathery." PR on the other hand is perfect for abrasion resistance as it is very hard as a paint or clear finish should be, but actually is brittle if used in thicker layup sections. Surfboards used to almost shatter when they hit rocks, now they take the impact much better with epoxy. I saw damage samples at the factory.

Hope this helps, Spidey