Hi guys, I’ve been a long time lurker on sways, and now I’m wrapping up my second project – both wood boards.
So far, I’ve learned everything I know by either “trial and error” or searching the archives here. I want to commend all the regular posters for creating such an incredible resource – I’ve probably logged more time in the sways archives than I have in the shop building boards.
But I’ve run into an issue with my sanding coat that I can’t seem to find in the archives.
Substrate is epoxy permeated wood (for adhesion), followed with standard PE glass job, 4 oz cloth, etc. Everything went fine until I got to the sanding coat. Basically, the coat has cured splotchy, with some areas hard and others VERY sticky, seemingly uncured. No way to even think about sanding this down.
I mixed the resin using a scale to measure catalyst and surfacing agent, so I’m pretty sure that the measurements were correct. I also thought I had mixed well prior to applying the resin. But I must have screwed something up. The only thing I can think of is that I put the surfacing agent in the resin, and then added the catalyst without stirring first. I saw a milky reaction occur when the two mixed, but I thought nothing of it and continued on.
My main question is how to recover from this point. I’ve got a surface that’s half cured and definitely unsandable. The only thing I can think of is using a solvent to remove the sticky portion, and then redo the sanding coat, but I can also see that going terribly wrong.
So, I’d love to hear any advice on how to save this project.
Thanks!