It looks like you may be the first person on the planet putting on coats of epoxy that are too thin. Everyone else tends to make them to thick. Congratulations! It must be the auto practice.

Epoxy is so thick, compared to paint and varnish, that it's normal to get a slight orange peel effect. It looks to me from the picture that you've been putting on coats that are so thin that instead of filling in the surface they reinforce the pattern.

Are you sanding between each coat? That would also keep the pattern from being filled in.

I'd suggest rolling on 5 coats of the thickness you've been doing and then sanding with #220. You should see an improvement.

There's nothing wrong with seeing the weave while sanding as long as if when you wipe the surface with a wet rag the weave disappears. If the weave keeps showing, you've sanded through into the glass, but if it disappears you're OK (It'll come back when it dries again). The wet surface is what you'll see when the varnish is on.

Good luck,

Laszlo

I just read your post again and it looks as if you're applying epoxy, waiting 8 hours, sanding and repeating. Is that right?

When you sand, are you getting a dry dust or is it gumming your paper? If it's gumming you need to wait longer for the cure to finish.

So, to repeat, apply 3 to 5 thin coats, wait until it's cured hard enough that you can't dent it with a thumbnail, try sanding it and if it doesn't make a dry dust, wait longer. Don't sand between each coat, at least not yet.

Laszlo

Thanks Lazlo for the advice. I did as you said, and although every coat has shown its own amount of orange pealing, I have resist the urge to sand between coats. I put my final coat on today and will allow it to cure for a few days before attempting to sand it smooth. My reason behind going so thin, was every time I tried to apply a little thicker coat, I was returning to find sagging. I don't know if this is an issue with System Three, or if I was really going too thick. My buddy used West System, and said he never had any sagging issues. I have never used marine epoxy. The automotive epoxy came in 35 gal barrels, and I'm not sure what company it was manufactured by. We always brushed or squeegeed epoxy for automotive purposes, never rolled it before this boat. So that could be where my skill is lacking a bit.

To answer your previous question, I was allowing the boat to dry after each washing before applying another coat to rule out water contamination. I was giving the epoxy about 48 hours before sanding, and if it was still gummy I quit. 

Thanks again.

"Orange peeling" is always a surface contamination issue---the epoxy is being repelled by something on the surface.  The System 3 Silver Tip is supposed to be blush-free, but high humidity can trigger some blush.  There might also be something floating around in your shop that's causing the orange peeling.  Silicone lubricant floating down from an overhead roll-up door, or a nearby clothes dryer vent are common culprits.

If you're wiping the surface between coats---you mention "used wax/grease remover"---that could be suspect.  Pretty much the only chemicals you can use to wipe down epoxy without risk of surface contamination are denatured alcohol and lacquer thinner.  Paint thinner or other solvents are loaded with stuff that epoxy doesn't like.  You need to watch the rag you're using to wipe with, too.  It needs to be essentially sterile---no fabric softener or soap or anything.  Oily rags or, heaven forfend, "tack rags," are death to epoxy bonds.

John,

Much as I hate to disagree with you (since you are usually right), in my experience orange peel is related to viscosity and thickness of coat. Maybe it's a terminology/definitions thing. The contaminants that you describe make what I thought were fish-eyes, not orange peel.

The best example I've seen of being able to induce and control orange peel is graphite/epoxy mix. Runny mixes don't make orange peel, thick ones do. Thin coats don't make orange peel, thick ones do. A thick coat of a thick mix makes a quite nobby orange.

Laszlo

Laszlo, you are ABSOLUTELY right.  I hate saying that I "mispoke," which is a weasle word reserved for the exclusive use of politicians.  I said the WRONG thing, stupidly.  

"Fisheyes" is the common term of art for the effects of surface contamination.

Now, with that cleared up, I am 90% sure that what I'm seeing in Rob's photo is fisheyes.  And thus surface contamination.

   Let it overlap the sides. There are several ways to trim it up that reslt in a clean edge. It will blend in when you sand it and then add filler coats. Just make sure to scuff sand the area for good adhesion [url=http://www.e-six-sigma.net]http://e-six-sigma.net[/url] . Check Lazlo's website for some good photos of the process.

  Last June brought my newly built Shearwater from CLC in Annapolis to its home in NH. After too many splotchy epoxy issues, figured that somewhere on the trip, or just being on the highway that long, I had contaminated the previously pristine hull. Scrubbed it down with one of the orange cleaners, then soap and water, and then alcohol before starting over. Can't see them now, but I can tell you where they were.