: I feel, the use of a squeegee to remove excess resin from the
: wet-out of the fiberglass,
: which at the same time creates very uniform application, is Ted
: Moores greatest contribution
: to stripper construction.

: On my first boat, a canoe, I followed the information I had, which
: didn't include squeegeeing
: off the resin after the wet-out of the fiberglass. Later, when I
: sanded, I found I had ripples in my
: glass surface because the glass had floated on top of the resin in
: areas where there were folds
: and wrinkles, or just excess resin, that I had not seen, or
: removed.

: At that time, I didn't realize that epoxy has no tack strength. I
: was used to using glues
: that were sticky from the get-go. Epoxy is so viscous, and without
: holding power until it
: "kicks", that a wrinkle, or even the air in a section of
: glass not yet saturated, will lift right
: off the hull and the void below will fill with resin.

: This is why I would never consider another technique.

: You will not remove as much epoxy with paper towels as you would if
: you used a squeegee.

: Epoxy thickens from the moment you add hardener.

: You won't remove resin from areas that are floating on a pool of
: resin that has thickened
: to the point that it can no longer be removed from the glass
: fibers.

: I know this from experience. If having the boat be as light-weight
: as possible with a
: hand lay-up is NOT important to you, than by all means try this
: paper towel method.

: I never wet-out more than half a boat before I squeegee off the
: excess resin.

: The glass has all the resin it needs by the time I finish wetting
: out one half the boat and get back to
: that same point with a squeegee to remove the excess resin.

: Wetting out the glass, by using small batches of resin (never more
: than 6 oz.) in a warm shop
: and with roller application, keeps the resin at it's thinnest for
: the longest period of time, so
: I can remove excess not only resin off the surface of the glass,
: but any pools the glass may be
: floating on that I don't know about. With a seal coat taking care
: of the wood's need for resin,
: I can get the the lightest, most uniform, totally transparent
: lay-up, time, after time.

: I don't have to apply extra resin, using a brush (which is natural
: to use with resin right from the mixing cup!
: Big No. No! When it kicks much faster than you expected) which is
: much slower than a roller.
: Yes, others do this and it works for them, but they don't tell you
: how they learned the hard way,
: not to use a brush right from the mixing cup!

: Sounds like a big mess and waste of paper towels. I think there are
: serious draw backs to this technique which
: a novice will not know about. I would not recommend it to any of my
: builders.

: Solutions to problems are easy.

: The trick is to come up with a solution that doesn't create three
: new problems.

: Have fun!

: Rob

With all do respect, I do believe it is worth a try. I would be willing to donate a 6 pack of paper towels to Mr. Smith, so that he can do an honest measurement and report his results.