: I finally got around to applying the sealing coat of resin to the deck of my
: Greenlander Night Heron. I would have to call it at least a minor
: disaster. In some places the resin went on too thick, in other places I
: hardly got any on. My plan had been to put the fiberglass on tomorrow. If
: I do that will the blotchiness and uneven-ness go away with the first coat
: on the fiberglass? Or should I wait a couple of days and sand things down?
: I must have started with too big a batch, because the cup started to heat
: up before I got it all down on the deck. I'm using System 3 laminating
: resin with slow hardener.

: Len

It's natural for a wood surface to absorb resin at different rates in different areas, so you will have some areas that look mat and others shiny.

This always happens when I seal coat my strippers. I roll on only one coat and leave it alone until it's tack free then apply my glass and wet the glass out.

Do you have areas where the resin was setting up and was thick as you applied it to the wood? Are these areas noticeably high as you look and touch them? If so, I would say you need to sand the high areas. I'd suggest applying another coat to the dry / low areas first, because you don't want to cut into the wood.

This is a hand sanding job. I'd use 60 grit which will cut fast and not clog quickly. You want complete control over the sanding so you don't cut into the wood which would show up as a blotch.

All you need to do by sanding is to create a smooth surface, again don't over sand and cut into the wood.

You say the surface now looks blotchy. Will that change? You should be able to tell when you wet the mat areas. It may or may not, because if your resin was setting up as you applied it, the resin will not absorb at the same rate into the wood.

Look at my "Transparent Lay-ups" page on my web site for glassing details.

Good luck

Rob