with respect to quantity, to the extent you are not trying to have epoxy for another project, the smallest order of epoxy and hardener which is one pint of hardener to one quart of resin, should be more than enough to refinish a  WD12 with epoxy to spare.

to the extent your surface is relatively smooth and you are not trying to fill a weave, i would recommend two very thin coats of epoxy.  apply with a foam roller than tip out with a brush.  the thin nap roller they sell should do the trick.  there should really be no runs if you roll it out thin.

on the rub strips that CLC sells with dynel cloth, i have retrofitted them onto all my boats.  they work very well and i would heartily recommend them.  i went through glass-only pretty quick.  the dynel cloth definitetly has different and better  abrasion resistance properties.  refinishing the boat is a great time to also do the install as you have already started doing the most important prep which is to get the varnish/paint off and be attaching them to epoxy hull.

on the hardener, my preference is the slow hardener.  i would not think of the hardener type as having anything to do with runs.  runs happen when you apply too much epoxy to a surface and it runs.    the most important consideration in hardener selection is working time.  slow hardener buys you more time which to me is always valuable.  there is nothing worse than being in the middle of a task and the epoxy kicks.  slow hardener allows me to work at a nice and careful pace and gives more time which can be very valuable when something unexpected happens.    that said, it is still fast enough that you can meet an agressive work schedule with slow hardener if you plan your day appropriately.

hope that helps,

howard

Howard is absolutely right. The main thing I have to add is some numbers. On my WD12 build I was able to cover the entire boat with 3 ounces of epoxy per coat, once the weave was filled. A coat that thin can't run.

Because the coats were so thin, I had to use 5 coats, rather than the 2 that Howard reccomends. I put it on with a roller and tipped it with a disposable foam brush.

Again, because it was only 3 ounces of epoxy, it went on very quickly. A fast hardener would have been fine, but I was also building in early spring. If you're building with the temps in the 80's, you'll be able to put on at least 2 coats per day even with slow hardener, so go with that.

If you're applying glass patches, wet them out on a table covered with polyethylene sheeting. Once they're all wet out, use your gloved hand to squeegee out all the extra epoxy, then put the patches on the boat. That will minimize drips. If you work quickly with slow hardener on a cold morning, you can use the puddle from one patch to at least start wetting out the next one and save lots of epoxy that way.

Good luck,

Laszlo

   What is the best way to get a thin coat of epoxy? Use thinned epoxy to make it go farther or use unthinned and just keep rolling it out to spread it thin? I have been using a couple of coats of resin thinned with acetone and it seems to fill the grain nicely leaving a smooth surface. I also can't help but think that the thin resin penetrates better on the initial coat than the unthinned stuff too. The less resin that builds up on a smooth plank face, the less you have to sand down to prep for paint or varnish.

That depends on the resin. It would have to be compatible with the thinner that you use, for one thing.

I've been using System 3 Silvertip, which is a low viscosity resin and just rolling it on and spreading it thin. It stays easy to spread even when it's kicked enough to be uncomfortably hot, so I don't feel the need for thinners.

Laszlo