: I was wondering how long it can take for System 3 to harden. It was carefully
: measured and mixed thoroughly. I used it for what I hoped would be a final
: coat, but it has been on since Friday and it's still tacky in many places.
: The temp in the garage has been kept up to about 70 and I even used a heat
: lamp in the worst areas to move it along, but no luck there. The surface
: just got rough and I was still able to scrape it away easily w/ a
: fingernail. I was hoping to launch it this friday night, but I dunno.
: I also did some work with some West System and ot kicked very quickly..no
: problems.
: I should have realized that something was amiss when the hull took a while to
: dry, but I just made sure I measured and mixed carefully expecting it to
: work better.
: It's costing me a fortune in kerosene to keep the garage warm!! LOL
: Any ideas out there, or should I just start scraping?
: BTW it is one gorgeous boat!!

I use System Three all the time. The only times I've had problems was when I go the mix wrong.

I'd go at it at once with course steel wool and laquer thinner. Scraping will make a bad job worse.
Don't think about waiting for it to set because it never will be right and it will screw up your varinsh.

Be sure to TURN OFF that heater as you work with the laquer thinner. We wouldn't want to
BLAST you into orbit if it caught fire. Wear a respirator and heavy rubber gloves. Wipe
down the surface with paper towels. When you can sand all the surfaces without running
into gum, stop and recoat.

If your shop is not insulated and the kerosene heater is running continuously it could
be a factor as this kind of heater will produce moiture as a by product of combustion.
I've used them but my shop is well insulated and I shut it down before I start working
with resin.

I bet a new coat of resin with fast hardener will do the trick.

Good Luck!

All the best,

Rob Macks
Laughing Loon CC&K
www.LaughingLoon.com