That has been my experience as well. I do it the same way as John. I buy cheap mixing sticks and before I mix a batch I dip the stick in my little thing of colorant. I do it for different reasons, though. I'm a painter. I don't like bright finishes any more. I use tinted epoxy to make the paint go on with fewer coats so that I don't have a dark over light/light over dark issue, and I have been using a mixture of graphite and silica on hull bottoms because of its reparability. I use it for fill coats only, obviously, but I also believe that if you can add filler to your fill coats you will reduce your weight because epoxy is heavier than graphite or silica by volume. I have never tested, so it may be that by telling you this I'm spreading a folk remedy, but... Anyway- I use tinted epoxy when I laminate, and I use colorant with the graphite and silica mixture to make sure it is as dark as I want it.

So- I dumped my internet cache and couldn't get back into my old account, which is not completely bad, because now I will be able to post photos. I am currently working on restoring an old kevlar squirt boat, and I'm doing the graphite coating on the bottom. I will take photos and post them when I get to that point. The deck has a flake finish and will be clear, so there won't be any opaque paint on this one.

m