: Hello all, this is my first post on this forum after following it
: for a couple of years and finally strip building a kayak. My
: question is really for Robert Pruden related to a recent post
: about putting Maple leaves under the glass. I have the hull done
: on my second build and wanted to try putting some flowers and
: imported butterflies under the glass as a trial for the deck. I
: am trying to avoid problems like you had with the Maple leaves
: and was wondering how you went about applying the leaves and
: what you might do different if you wanted to do it again? My
: thanks to everyone in the forum for all the lessons learned
: before I started my build.

The best advise is to do a test on a panel you might use as a kayak bulkhead.

Press leaves, bugs, road kill, flowers, between the pages of a heavy book (to flatten them) placing them in tissue first.

Epoxy has no tack strength, so flattening is important.

Wet the substrate with epoxy, place your objects and wet them, cover with glass and wet that.
Then cover the epoxy and glass with a layer of clear kitchen wrap or wax paper and press out all the air bubbles to the edges
with a squeegee. Tape and apply pressure to keep it flat and air out. Apply weights. EXPERIMENT!

I put leaves under glass on a deck years ago. It worked great, for a while.

Ultraviolet light is very strong and will fade most everything in a few years at best.

The leaves on the boat pictured below turned a dark brown after a couple years.

If you place is out of constant sunlight the colors will last longer.

I've been thinking about doing the same, with the fall colors in full power here in Maine.

I wouldn't use a skunk!

All the best,
Rob