By "integral", do you mean grouped the way it is? If so, I bundled the strips as I cut them and milled them so I could balance them on either side of the boat.

Using scrapers is the route I plan to go. I did a test wet-out with mineral spirits of sanded vs scraped strips. The sanded area was dull and lifeless. The scraped was 3-dimensional. I'm definitely going to finish up with the scraper. I know it won't leave the wood with as much "tooth" for the epoxy, but I'll be using Raka this time which is lower viscosity than West and I'm counting on the better penetration to counter the lack of fuzzy, sanded surface.

Ross

> Nice pic Ross. I know yer having probs but how did you keep the grain so
> integral? Maybe another smoothing idea would be to take a wide
> (6-8")thin scraper, curve it, and cut on the diagonal. Maybe it would
> at least take the high spots. Or what about Shawn and Hanks plaster idea
> and make real quick custom form sanding block (say 4" x 10") to
> fit the general shape of this area. Spay glue some 100 grit and maybe
> this'll just get the highs.

> The grain you've got is really striking.

> -mike