and that is what Mr. Smith from CPES said too in a recent post in this thread. Trouble is, he gave no advice about what to do about it. I still say "rinse it off", whatever it is. Encapsulating that witches' brew under the glass cannot be a good idea, of that I am certain.

: Just a thought here. The "slime" you encountered may not have had
: anything to do with the chemistry of the epoxy component of the CPES. It
: may have been a reaction between the solvents in the CPES and oils in the
: wood.

: Was your greenland paddle made of red cedar?

: The soup of solvents that gets mixed up with the CPES has some
: characteristics which, from the descriptions I am reading, suggest that
: they might also dissolve the essential oils which are in woods like red
: cedar. Just as the solvents can soak into the wood and "drag along
: with them" the epoxy, why can't those same solvents 1) saturate the
: wood, 2)dissolve oils found in the wood 3) carry those thinned and
: dissolved oils along as the solvents go through the wood and 4) leave a
: film of those oils resting on the surface -- floating above the cured
: epoxy -- when the solvents evaporate.

: We know that a final coat of polyester resin is frequently mixed with wax,
: styrene plastic and solvents, all of which float to the surface. The
: solvent evaporates leaving the styrene and/or wax behind to seal the
: polyester resin from air so it can cure. I'm wondering if something
: similar is happening with the CPES. I know some people wipe down red cedar
: with acetone before finishing it, or gluing it, in order to remove any
: oils on the surface, so if acetone is a part of the solvent mix in CPES (
: and acetone is used as a solvent with other epoxies) then this may just be
: a case of the solvent moving the wood oils through the wood.

: Anyhow, it's just a thought.

: A bit of chemical investigation on the "scum" would tell us if it
: was blush or wood oils. Anyone get a chemistry set for Xmas?

: PGJ