: I am new to the list, but am actually building my forth strip boat. I am
: using a spar urethane that has worked out well in the past. The first coat
: on the outside of the hull dried beautifully. On the inside of the hull it
: remained tacky. I tried extra heat, fan, more time. Made no difference.
: Finally, I scraped it off, and re-did a trial section. It remains tacky. I
: can take the same varnish and do a section that dried previously and it
: will still dry to touch in half an hour. One possibility is that the
: problem originally was related to too low a temp because I work with a
: kerosene heater in a garage, or it could have something to do with the
: epoxy cure. What can I do to get it to dry hard? This is driving me nuts,
: any help would be greatly appreciated

I hate when that happens.

Different epoxies have a mix of differing chemicals that rise to the surface of the epoxy as is reaches its total cure slowly over a couple weeks. The varnish you use must be compatable with the epoxy you use. Consult the epoxy manufacturer for the right varnish to use.

How it has dried on the outside and not on the inside I don't know. Unless you tried a different epoxy on the inside. You could just wait a couple months and see what happens. You might have just created a non-skid surface.

Seriously, though, I tried using Epifanes varnish once on the System Three epoxy I use and the dam stuff took a week to dry.

If you want to remove it I'd try steel wool and alcohol for a start.

Good Luck.