: As Bill suggests, don't use acetone. MAS epoxies recommends
: isopropyl alcohol, which I have used with success for general
: cleanup of surfaces before glassing. If there are traces of
: epoxy that you want to remove, vinegar works well, but I would
: test on scrap before using vinegar where it could soak into
: wood. You could wipe wood treated with vinegar with a couple
: applications of water to remove the vinegar residue before
: letting the wood dry. Again, I would try this on scrap before
: assuming that it will work on the boat.

: Re. mixing epoxy, I use the calibrated cup method described
: earlier. If you calibrate an outer cup as illustrated, you
: needn't mark the inside cup, just put the mixing cup inside the
: marked one, fill to the lines, and remove the inside cup before
: mixing. Plastic beer cups from the grocery store are what I use.
: I calibrated them with a large syringe purchased from the drug
: store. Extremely accurate, and difficult to screw up. Note
: carefully that you calibrate the marked cup by putting water
: into a second cup inside the cup being marked, not by putting
: water into the cup being marked.

: The west pumps work, and I have used them for years without
: failures in the things I worked on. However, there is larger
: risk of miscounting than there is of screwing up filling to a
: mark on a cup. Further, you can see very clearly whether you
: have filled to the mark; if you are using pumps alone, once the
: counting is done, there is no evidence confirming that you did
: it right. I have lost more than one batch of epoxy because
: something distracted me and I lost count (think cat sneaking
: into shop, jumping up onto the bench unexpectedly etc. etc.) and
: had to toss the batch. Also, I have had a couple batches
: destroyed when a pump stroke came up with a bubble burp. I find
: calibrated cups to be easy and more or less idiot proof as long
: as you are very careful to mix very thoroughly.

: Congratulations on getting the boat apart, and getting the cleanup
: mostly done. I think that you did the right thing.

: Best regards,

: Allan Edie

Hi Allan,

My biggest problem (with epoxy, we're not talking about other problems), other than the occasional hick-up when the pumps burp a bubble, is not paying attention and not getting a full stroke to the pumps. I know right away when I've done it, cuss at myself a few times, toss the mixture and try again :)

Bill H.