Beading sounds like a contaminated surface, maybe blush. How long has it been since you applied the epoxy?

Laszlo 

Hi Lazlo

Glad you're up so early.

It's been close to three weeks since I finished the epoxy, but I thought blush wasn't suppososed to be a problem with MAS. I also hand sanded the whole thing with 300 grit sand paper and I wonder if it's too smooth.

The wierd thing is that the first coat covered better than the second. It feels like some kind of chemical contaminant but I've only used denatured alchahol after sanding the epoxy and then water when wet sanding the varnish. Do you think I should rub it down with paint thinner or something else?

Thanks a bunch for the help.

Elliot 

From your description it seems like you've done everything right.  Were you wiping down with a rag?  Fabric softener in the rag will do it every time.  So will exhaust from from a nearby clothes dryer.  Another source of trouble we found was fallout from an overhead roll-up garage door:  specks of lubricant trickle down.

Hi John

So happy you're checking this on a Sunday which is definetly a boat building day for me but not for you guys. 

I did use rags made from an old tee shirt. Go figure ... However my wife doesn't use fabric softner and she hangs things to dry. If there is some contaminant from this rag what can I do about it?

Thanks

Elliot 

 Well, solvents are your friend---do the usual wet-sanding procedure to flatten out what's there.  Then swab the thing with solvent to remove any impurities and let it dry for an hour or so.

Letting the solvent dry is important.  On a humid day, THAT can cause adhesion trouble because it penetrates the cured varnish surface and only evaporates slowly.

Hi everyone,

It just occurred to me that the water here in the country is softened to get rid of the iron. In the shower after washing it seems that my skin is covered with what feels like an oily film. Could this have something to do with it since my using the same water for the wet sanding?

Thanks

Elliot 

No. That oily film after bathing with softened water is your own natural skin oils which the softened water did not remove. If there really was oil in your water, you'd see it all over your dishes, floating on top of cooking water, etc. Softened water is actually better for most chemistry so it shouldn't be a problem.

Here's a thought - did you touch the problem surfaces with your bare hands?

Laszlo

Lazlo,

I've been wearing gloves whenever I work on the boat.

I put the thrid coat on this afternoon after sanding and wiping everything down with denatured alcahol I'm not sure that the alcahol did anything. Maybe varnish thinner would've have been stronger. I also added just the smallest amount of thinner to my varnish which was feeling too thick and also to help things stick better.

I applied the varnish very carefully using only a foam brush and checked and double checked everything as I went. Whenever there was a problem area I immediately did it again going pretty slowly and pressing down quite a bit. Anyway it came out really nice compared with the previous coat. 

Not sure exactly what made it go better, but better it is and that's the important thing.

Thanks for all the help and I will send pictures in a week or two. The boat has to be ready for my birthday party and official boat launch on June 14 .

Elliot