Post-epoxy sanding DONE! Total was right at 9 hours of sander love. No glass sand-through anywhere, though I did get into the cloth a small amount in a few places. Sanded until I saw 95%(+) of what I call the “sparkles” go away. These are tiny shiny areas in the valleys of the epoxy from various causes, including roller texture, glass cloth wrinkles, glass roll creases, and yes, previous over-sanding. Over sanding is increadably easy to do!
Did the vast majority with 120 grit, but used a single 80 grit sanding pad to fast cut the 2″ overlap on the top. Hand sanded the vertexes between the facets using a sanding sponge, that worked well there.
Today i I will apply the final finish overcoat of epoxy. Per the Hymnal, I’m going to roll it on and then tip it with a foam brush. Working on the milky sanded surface should make this epoxy coat easy to apply! I will apply the epoxy at 60F for added pot life working time and then when finished crank it up to 80F with the propane burner. I quit using the kerosene heater as soon as I flipped the shell right side up. While it did not put out a LOT of soot there was a little, however early on the massive heat output was useful when the outside temps were in the 20’s as I was able to actively work in the shop (and I had not purchased the propane burner yet either, the old “use what you’ve got” principal). Anyway, no fisheyes, which is what I was worried about.
