: It will be very hard to tell at this point how your glass will look after
: it's sanded smooth
: and varnished. The rough surface you now have breaks up the light too badly
: to see the
: glass. I would want at least three coats or resin over the wet-out.

: I've worked with epoxy/glass lay-up for many years and this is how I produce
: a consistanlty
: transparent lay-up.

: Using Epoxy Resin and Fiberglass Cloth to make a Transparent Lay-up

: Though epoxy resins have been used in boat building for a long time, they
: were not specifically designed to produce the transparent fiberglass
: lay-ups desired in stripper construction.

: To produce a transparent fiberglass lay-up the epoxy resin must be able to
: displace air and thoroughly wet-out the twisted fiberglass fibers in the
: cloth. The tighter the glass weave is, the more difficult it is for the
: resin to penetrate, wet-out and make transparent.

: A resin with a thin watery consistency works best to wet-out the fiberglass
: cloth making it transparent. Visible cloth or silver fleck indicates that
: the cloth was not totally wet out. A thin watery resin also allows air
: bubbles and foam to dissipate.

: Epoxy manufacturers now make specialty laminating resins specifically
: designed to wet-out fiberglass cloth for a transparent lay-up. These
: resins are very thin/watery and will wet-out cloth quickly at room
: temperatures (70·) and lower. These resins are usually more expensive than
: regular resins and are not good for other applications like coating or
: gluing because they are so thin in consistency. Using a specialty resin
: also means you will have to buy additional regular resin for the rest of
: your boat building. Epoxy is sold in set units, so you may end up buying
: more or less than you will need.

: Regular epoxy resin is a syrup consistency at room temperatures. This makes
: wetting -out fiberglass cloth more difficult UNLESS special measures are
: taken.

: If the regular resin is warmed to 85 -90· it will become much thinner making
: it’s wet-out properties better. If the resin is warm and the glass/wood is
: cold, the resin will thicken on contact.

: So if your whole shop is heated instead of just heating the resin, the resin,
: wood and glass will all be at the same temperature and the wet-out will
: work well.

: The disadvantage to this is that heat will accelerate the set-up of the
: resin. This will reduce your working time and the ability of the resin to
: wet-out the cloth as the resin thickens.

: Most resin hardeners are available in fast and slow options. So using a slow
: hardener will give more work time and a better wet-out.
: Information given with the epoxies will talk about a “pot life” for each
: resin/hardener combination. This pot life refers to the length of time it
: will take for the mix to set up in the mixing pot. The mixing of the the
: hardener with the resin starts a catalytic reaction generating it’s own
: heat. When the resin is left in the “pot” or mixing cup, it is in a mass
: which concentrates the heat production further accelerating the set-up of
: the resin.

: Furthermore, Epoxy resin will begin to thicken as soon as the hardener is
: mixed in. This is almost imperceptible, but over a working time of ten
: minutes the resin will thicken enough to reduce it’s wet-out properties
: and it will be difficult to remove excess resin from the cloth with a
: squeegee.
: This problem can be overcome by mixing small batches of resin instead of
: large ones.

: Never mix more than 6 oz. of resin and hardener.

: This will produce less heat in the mixing cup. And by using smaller batches
: you will continually use the resin at it’s thinnest stage, improving
: wet-out. Using many small batches will also extend your working time as
: the many small batches will set-up more slowly than several large ones
: would. Using small batches will allow you to better estimate how much
: resin you need to finish the job, resulting in less waste.

: The set-up time for the same mix of resin will be greatly extended IF the
: resin is poured into a large flat container, like a paint roller tray,
: where the resin is spread thinly. It will be cooled by the large surface
: area and cannot produce the heat it would in a mass.

: If you use a roller to apply the resin it will produce a thin consistent
: coating that will wet-out the glass well and allow foam or bubbles to
: dissipate.

: So you can consistently produce a transparent glass lay-up using
: regular resin if you: Heat the shop or work on a hot day with temperatures at
: 85 -90·

: Use slow hardener.

: Mix small batches

: Pour resin into a flat tray.

: Roll on a thin coat.

: Any glass you want to be transparent has to be treated this way. That means
: if you want your exterior hull/deck seams and stem reinforcement strips to
: be transparent you must wet-out the cloth this way.

: Fiberglass cloth is the other important consideration when trying to create a
: transparent lay-up.

: This why the best weave to use for a stripper, if you want as transparent a
: lay-up as possible, is plain weave fiberglass cloth. In plain weave cloth
: the strands run visibly perpendicular and there are small spaces around
: the strand intersections.

: Some of the fine weave or satin weave fiberglass cloths are so tightly woven
: they appear as a dense opaque sheet of cloth that is very difficult to
: wet-out and make a transparent lay-up with. The alure of these clothes is
: that they promise higher strength and lower weight because of the higher
: fiber count and low profile which needs less resin. Again, I emphasize
: these types of cloth are much more problematic in producing a transparent
: lay-up and should be avoided.

: All the best,
: Rob Macks
: Laughing Loon CC&K
: www.laughingloon.com

Hey Rob WOW !!
Thanks for the G R E A T response and fantastic help - we neophytes can really learn fast with such great help.
Thanks so much I/we really appreciate it.
Joe