: Usually you should not sand so much of epoxy. Hull should be quite smooth
: before epoxing and glassing and should be still smooth afterwards. You can
: ofcourse use the epoxy as a fairing compound. If you have non-glassed
: surfaces remember to coat it well and then do not sand the epoxy away,
: just scrub it. If you have surface which you will glass, no precoating is
: needed before glassing.

: So - in short - sanded epoxy will not protect the wood, you'll need the epoxy
: layer on the wood.

: Toni

Unfortunately the top layer of epoxy hadn't bonded properly because when I started sanding I could see small pieces starting to flake off. I think I left the previous layer too long before applying over it & I thought it better to remove it now rather than risk having problems later.
Before I started with the glass & epoxy, the bare timber surface was very fair. I think I was probably a bit sloppy with the coats of epoxy etc. Never mind, it's another lesson learnt.
Glen G.