nothing to worry about.  squeegee is the way to go.

clc sells some inexpensive 'epoxy spreaders'  http://www.clcboats.com/shop/products/boat-building-supplies-epoxy-fiberglass-plywood/marine-epoxy-fiberglass/plastic-epoxy-spreader.html

and these certainly make wetting out large areas faster and smoother.

if you are carefult about cleaning the off after using them,,,,,they actually last quite a bit.

keep doing what you are doing.  sounds like you are on a roll.

howard

A squeegee, or even better a drywall blade, can work for applying an initial thin coat to whole sheets before cutting them out or beginning work, to seal the parts during the build.

Waterproofing requires a certain mil thickness, so you generally want to reach that thickness as efficiently as possible. Two rolled coats works with most epoxies, whereas squeegeed super-thin coats will take a lot more.

Most builders seem to think you build up the surface with resin and then sand it smooth. Not so , say I who learned from glassing surfboards. Put your cloth down dry. Smooth out all the bumps and let it sit (drape) for a couple hours. Mix small batches of resin when learning (no more than 6 oz )  . Pour the resin on the cloth all at once and spread evenly with a squeegee. Don't try to force it into the weave it will soak in. Then I go back and roll it with a 4 inch roller. Roll the shit out of it , work it like your trying to get all the resin out of the cloth. The roller should not slip and slide. When there are no shine spots its time to squeegee again. Working from the middle to the end or middle to the sides you pull off all excess resin with the squeegee. When the resin is pushing in front of the squeegee scrap the squeegee off into a grunge bucket. (don't try to re use this resin it is all foamy and will leave white areas in your glass job. If done properly there will be no shiney spots or dry spot in the cloth. It will look dull and very even. The weave of the cloth will show. When dry to touch you can do the fill coats. No sanding should be needed here except feathering at the laps. I do cut laps and after cutting off  the tape I scrape the laps with a scraper and don't have to sand. The fill coats (2) are done with a roller. Again I roll the shit out of it. Pour the resin on and roll it out ,trying to roll it all off. When it is as thin as you can get it there will be thousands of tiny bubbles. I drag a dry foam brush over these and the will all pop leaving a smooth finish . A very quick sanding when dry with 80 grit ,just enough to get any nibs off. Then the second coat is done the same way. When that is dry it can be sanded even with 80 grit. There should be no shiney spots and now sanding through to the cloth. If you find you are sanding into the cloth you need to go back and do a cheater coat of resin. At this stage you do your finish coat. For clear coats I shoot 2 coats of Automotive clear coat. If it is a color coat like on a boat I will shoot 4 coats of paint. Dont expect to get it right the first time . It takes some practice to figure it out. There really isnt that much sanding if your doing everything right.

Generally agree with above, except I use a spreader for wetting glass and never a roller occasionally a brush to load epoxy onto vertical/overhead surfaces).

But I think the thread was talking about non-glassed areas.

Pre-glassing or even just pre-coating panels that require a lot of bending to become a boat part -I'm think ch decks or wd bows- is not a good idea.

Thanks all for the comments.  So what I am reading into all the comments is that thin coats is fine and any technique to apply resin is OK, it doesnt have to be brushed on.

I use 4" plastic putty spreaders. And I use the rounded corners for fillet profiles. I get the spreaders in boxes of 20. Cheap! http://www.harborfreight.com/20-piece-4-putty-spreaders-69564.html

I think I see an important reason to be careful of using a squeegee too much in Wood Ogre's comments:  "When the resin is pushing in front of the squeegee scrap the squeegee off into a grunge bucket. (don't try to re use this resin it is all foamy and will leave white areas in your glass job. ")

So as luck would have it, I did see the squeegee'd epoxy get foamy after squeegeeing off an area where I had rolled out some epoxy (not on cloth).  I had moved the epoxy around with the squeegee too much I bet.  Amazing how after an immediate application after stirring it does that.

Hey, JimNorman ..I've tried to put a fresh edge on the scraper/squeegees from CLC and the plastic in theirs tends to create shards, thus streaks in epoxy...no matter how I try to put a new edge on them...have you tried to clean the edge of those spreaders?  Do they clean up good?

Thanks, Curt

I've had good luck re-edging the clc scrapers with a very sharp block plane. I used a razor knife and straight edge to cut off the mangled section, then used the plane to put a new edge on. The trick is to set the depth of the plane very low, and hold the plane still while you pull the scraper across it (positioned like putting a bevel on a piece of wood, not like sharpening a chisel on a stone). I got some chatter the first time I tried it, so I backed off the blade a bit and sped up my pull and that took care of it.

First, Curt, I have never seen a whit of difference between the spreaders I use and the ones CLC has. I suspect they are the same. I try to re-use them by giving them a good wipe on a paper towel or shop rag, and generally I have been able to use them two times or maybe three if I'm lucky. Eventually, though, they do get ratty along the edge, and at $7.95 (current sale price, normally $9.95, I think) for a box of 20 of them, they are not worth saving. Also, if I'm spreading epoxy on fresh fabric, I NEVER re-use an old spreader -- it's too easy for even a tiny burr to catch in the weave and make a real mess of things.

Hope this helps.

Jim

One other thing: I use both a spreader and a disposable chip brush when I'm laying the first coat of epoxy into the weave of fresh fabric. The spreader for most of the long, uncomplicated runs; the chip brush to dab epoxy into corners and get the fabric to lay down and behave properly. I keep a sharp eye out for stray bristles that inevitably start pulling out of the brush ferrule, and when the second hair comes out, I toss that brush and get a fresh one. The 1 1/2 inchers sell for about $25 for a box of 36, and you really only use a few of them for a boat, so they are truly disposable too. http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=2118&familyName=Redtree+Chip+Brushes

Side note: I also keep some of the chip brushes in the kitchen for use in basting and spreading oil on the grill for omelettes. I can't tell the difference between these "industrial" brushes and the gourmet brushes that you pay a lot for in kitchen supply places. And in the kitchen, I use them over and over; they wash perfectly with the silverware in the dishwasher. Just don't use your epoxy brushes in the kitchen or vice versa. :-)

Jim

Sheesh, my special-rounded corner spreader is a couple years old. Wipe with alcohol dipped rag, and every few months I flex it to break off the grunge that builds in the grip area. Use a mill file to tune any edges, just a couple strokes makes the edge perfect.

Colin...I went out and rescued 5 squeegees that would have been trashed using your method of cutting a new edge with a utility knife...worked great..thanks!

Jim..thanks for the notes and the links...when I need to order more, I'll compare to http://www.duckworksbbs.com/supplies/tools/brushes/bristle.htm prices.. I see they are $12.48 for a box of 24.   If you havent already tried them, they are great.

Curt 830/997-8120

nemochad:

I read about your "special-rounded corner spreader" on another blog thread, and it sounded just right.  Could you describe again how to shape it?

In particular, would it be like an angled cut that is just rounded off at the angle tip to a nickel-radius?  Or does the nickel-radius part protrude out a bit from the angled sides?

Thanks!

Alec

Bottom right of page 119:

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/assets/HowTo-Publications/GougeonBook%20061205.pdf

-except I use a smaller 2" spreader, cut at about a 60 degree angle, and also add a larger radius to the obtuse corner for flattish joints. 

Thanks!

I think I read in the CLC Shop Tips that before you start a build you prep the chip and acid brushes by applying CA clue at the base of the bristles to greatly reduce the shedding problem. I did this for my WD12 and had to pick out a grand total of two bristles

Also, I found out the hard way that if you dab at the epoxy with a chip brush too much you introduce a mass of fine bubbles that cloud the clear finish and are there for ever.

http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/wood_ogre-builds-14-ft-koa-kaholo-kook-box

Here is a link to the building thread of one of my Kaholos . The pictures used to be on that thread but now there are links to each picture on photo bucket.