Don, I've always has success just sanding, and then cleaning the wood off with a broom attachment on the shop vac to get all the dust out without stirring up the shop. On this most recent glassing which I just finished I sanded to 80 grit on the random orbital. There was an earlier thread in which Nick and George Roberts both agreed that fine sanding is not necessary. I'll let you know how it looks... So far so good!

> Well I've finally got the panels on the CLC Chessie 17 to the point where
> I thinking about the epoxy application. After literally sweating over the
> wood in the FL heat, I know that I need to clean the wood in some manner
> before applying the epoxy.

> What is the best method for cleaning/preparing wood for it's first epoxy
> coating? I was thinking about giving the panels a light sanding, then
> wiping down with water. Is this a good idea or what?

> Thanx in advance for any insight.

> Don