Welcome!
You want the panels to index to each-other… not to the mold. I think that’s why you need to install them together. My CNC cut mold straight from the factory wasn’t an exactly perfect fit. It was a tad bit too big in a few places… probably by design.
For those first three big seams, I recommend doing them one at a time. Those were the first I had ever done and doing three at once was very stressful and I ended up with some problems. Looking back, the center seam was very easy with a roller and a 3ft handle, but the sides are very finicky. The tape WILL conform to the curves, but it can be very difficult to reposition once it has stuck the the fillet. If I could go back and do it again I would do those first three seams one at a time. I would also pre-saturate the fiberglass tape for the side seams and lay it on already wet. I think this is SOOOO much easier and more forgiving than saturating the tape in place. Just spread some painter’s plastic out on a flat surface, weight it down, and saturate the tape on that. Then you can roll up the wet tape and go carefully unroll it onto your filleted seam. Then your fingers and a roller and/or a spreader (see below) can massage it and the fillet into shape.
Here are some general recommendations:
- Get a foam roller that can handle epoxy and use it instead of a brush whenever you can for saturating glass
- Get epoxy spreaders which are also good for saturating and work great for removing excess epoxy
- Do not skip finish steps when applying cosmetic epoxy: roll it on for an even coat then tip with a brush to pop little air bubbles
- Go to Costco and get a big pack of those blue shop towels. You’ll want LOTS of them.
- One small improvement on Mike’s one-handed station: before you start any epoxy work, take an entire roll and tear the individual towels apart to make a nice stack which you can grab from one-handed. It’s a small thing, but the small conveniences add up. 😉
- I made an epoxy stirrer out of a long carriage bolt with a washer glued to the end at a slight angle. I can chuck that into my drill and mix epoxy for days
- If the epoxy in your cup starts to get warm that means it’s beginning to set up. Very soon thereafter it will jell a bit and become unable to soak into the fiberglass cloth. Make a new batch and get a fresh brush/roller or you’ll end up with a literal hot mess.