Kirk,
As a second time builder, I am getting close to fiberglassing my Guillemot. Here is a list of books and references that I am re-reading to get ready to glass my boat: Nick's book of course, "The Strip-Built Sea Kayak"; "Kayak Craft" by Ted Moores; and "Ocean Kayak, an amateur's guide" by Vaclav Stejskal. All of these books talk about air bubbles trapped in the resin, and the strategies for minimizing and removing trapped air. Ted Moore's book has the most extensive chapter on fiberglassing and epoxy use, and thoroughly breaks down each step of the process. An additional resource is Ocean Kayak's on-line building guide, and Vaclav's epoxy test.

From my own experience, foam rollers tend to induce bubbles. Ted Moores cautions that on the second coat of epoxy, the coarse surface will cause the resin to foam up, therefore we should not attempt to build up the resin thickness at this point.

After applying resin fill coats with a squeegee, I have relied on high quality foam brushes to break any bubbles. Additionally, I plan to always apply resin during periods of stable-to-falling temperatures, as mentioned earlier.

It's been a while since my first boat, and I want to do an even better job this time. This is my perspective as a second time builder.

Chris

: I went to west marine yesterday and they didnt have any foam brushes that
: they said would work. So I bought west system foam roller that they said
: would work for a fill coat. I resanded the kayak with 180 grit and applyed
: the resin and it was all small bubbles in resin. Then I went over it with
: a brush and got rid of most.Is it impossible to put down a thin layer of
: resin that is clear of bubbles?What am I doing wrong?