: I suspect if you pre-coat the balsa it'll end up being lighter.
: Just apply a coating of epoxy as thin as you can get it and let
: it set before you glass will seal the wood and keep it from
: absorbing more epoxy.

: Perhaps you already do?

: I have to do the same thing on the Dacron when I cover a SOF before
: I glass it, otherwise it's an epoxy sponge and will suck up an
: amazing amount of epoxy.

: Bill H.

Yes, I precoat. There are many reasons- one being that I do a lot of inlays and I like to be sure any gaps are filled before epoxying. It's easiest to just coat the whole board, then sand well. Also the precoat does allow me more control of how much gets absorbed into the wood. The REAL reason for the precoat, however, is that it shows up all the screwups I missed and I can fix them before I glass. :)