: Charles and David,

: Sanding does not remove blush, it just spreads it around. Blush is a wax like
: substance, try sanding a lot of wax off of a piece of wood, it heats up
: nicely, melts, and colls and hardens somewhere else. After the kayak has
: been sanded, wash it down with a mild soap and water. Rinse it thoroughly.
: Wipe with a clean towel (without fabric softener). Apply the varnish. If
: you have been out paddling the kayak while waiting to varnish it, the
: blush is probably gone, but washing before varvishing will help make sure
: you dont have any contaminants on the surface. My first varnishing
: experience was awful, I always wash before varnishing now.

: Mike (who once had a sticky alligaitor skin mess all over his Artic Tern
: )
: Wishing you a glassy coat.

The blush layer of epoxy is thin enough, that sanding will loosen it up enough that washing off the dust will take the blush along with it. besides, how many good epoxys have blush? any surface coat should be perfectly blush free.

Then again, I get good deals on West system stuff from my work, so it's all good.