: I am in the middle of the tedious job of final smoothing of my boat
: prior to varnishing. This is my second stripper, I don't
: remember the first boat being quite such a pita to get smooth. I
: started out with 120 grit good quality paper, but it clogs
: quickly, I use a shop vac to clean the paper. That means having
: to frequently stop sanding, and clean out the paper. I started
: using 120 grit wet/dry paper, works much better, but it is hard
: to find 120 grit in auto parts stores, they seem to stock only
: the finer grits. I will soon run out of 120 wet/dry, and might
: have to order more online, if I can't find it locally.

: While shopping for more 120 wet/dry, I noticed the sanding screens
: they sell for dry wall. Has anyone tried these on epoxy? Seems
: like they would solve the clogging problem. If anyone has tried
: these, please let me know your results.

: Thanks,
: Ken F.

Generally if the epoxy is plugging the paper quickly it's not all the way set yet. Initial cure takes place fairly quickly usually within 6 or 8 hours, but a total cure can easily take a week to 10 days at 70 degrees, considerably longer if it's cooler. Until the final cure the epoxy stays "rubbery" and won't sand nicely.

Bill H.