: I just bought a 1973 Sunfish sailboat, and after touching up a few rough
: spots on the hull, I want to roll a thin coat of epoxy over the whole
: thing to seal it well (there are spider-cracks here and there).

: I'd like to tint the epoxy white and was wondering what I could use for a
: tint that would be available locally (we don't have a boat building supply
: place around here), such as auto supply stores or hardware or paint
: stores. I know I could get the proper tint from a place such as Jamestown
: Distributors or some other place, but if I can pick something up locally I
: can get on with the job rather than order and wait.

: One other question - will white-tinted epoxy be white enough, like white
: gelcoat? And, (this makes 2 other questions) will it still need to be
: painted over for U.V. protection?

: There is a sunfish forum for questions on restoration of these boats, but
: those guys are all poly/vinylester resin/gelcoat guys. I have epoxy resin
: on hand from my stripper project and would like to use that since I'm
: familiar with using it, and it rolls on real smooth. I heard gelcoat
: doesn't self-level as well.

: Thanks for any help you can provide.

Well to start with, the spider cracks tend to indicate weakness in the underlying structure and will come thru anything you coat it with. Far easier to learn to live with them as they don't really compromise the strength of the boat. The gelcoat is fairly brittle, specially as it ages and as the boat flexes it cracks. Unless the cause is adressed (which is difficult on a sealed boat like a Sunfish) then there really isn't a cure.

Bill H.