Hi David, I have lots of experience with what you are doing. After the West System job is done, it should be washed with water, to remove any residue that's produced with the cure. The epoxy finish needs to be sanded with #220 sandpaper to give tooth to the surface. If your varnish is not drying, I strongly believe it has probably has something to do with the varnish itself. Try varnishing something without epoxy as a test. If it doesn't dry as it's supposed to, then you have your answer. Please let me know your results. Thanks, Paul Baker On Wed, Jan 10, 2024 at 8:42 AM David Hill <David@dfhill.com> wrote:
I am refinishing the rudder of my M17. I stripped it down to bare wood and put on three layers of West System epoxy. I was planning to put several coats of marine spar varnish over the epoxy to protect it from UV. Everything I have read indicates this is a good and viable approach. But the spar varnish on the epoxy is not drying. It remains tacky days after being applied. I have experimented on other pieces of wood, applying epoxy and then coating the cured epoxy with spar varnish, with the same result. Has anyone else run into this issue? What did you do?
I found that I can clean the uncured spar varnish off by scrubbing with mineral spirits. If I scrub off the spar varnish, what can I use in place of it to protect the epoxy from UV?
David Hill M17 619\ "Grouper"
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