A lot of work gets you to the point of varnishing. Why would you want to cut corners on the final finish. No matter what anyone tells me about a particular varnish, I always sand between coats which only takes 15 minutes for a deck or hull. also, it knocks down any dust or bugs and makes a smooth surface for the next coat. BTW/I do at least 4 coats on deck and hull. If it doesn't dry, you should scrape/sand it all back to the epoxy.

Good luck,
Larry C.

: Well, I did a lot of searching, and I'm shocked it isn't on here already. Or
: perhaps it is too simple a question. My wife and I are varnishing our
: kayaks. We've done the full sanding job on hers, and started applying
: varnish. System 3 Spar Varnish. Gloss, I think. Anyway, I went through the
: instructions in my Pygmy book, the instructions on the can, and the
: instructions on the website (outdoor wood instructions, as well as their
: technical data sheet). As well as asking a friend about varnishing.
: Everything I got indicated that as long as you don't exceed the
: "second coat application without sanding time," you're OK to lay
: down a second coat without sanding. Unless you want a show boat. Well, I
: can tell you, neither of us wants a show boat. We want it to look tidy,
: but not a show boat. So, we put down the first coat, and then wait until
: we're in the window where you can put down a second coat without sanding.
: Put down a second coat, and it seems to be quite slow in drying (temps
: down to around 65-70F here today; 18 - 21C). So we try calling Sys3, but
: can never get them to answer. Or get through the busy signal. Anyway, call
: up Pygmy, at which time we're informed that we should never apply the
: second coat until the first is completely cured, and we're required to
: sand between coats (although a wet scotch-brite is acceptable for that).

: So what gives? What is the real answer? We, or at least I, am quite
: frustrated with this, and after this long a project, I'm about fed up with
: the complications. Help?