Epoxy over Gel coat troubles

I am repairing a fibreglass hull that has quite a few hairline cracks and deep gouges over the hull. I sanded the hull using 180 grit wet & dry and cleaned out the gouges using a small grinder. The hull has been left to thoroughly dry for a few weeks after a good cleaning, and then wiped over with acetone. I have applied some epoxy resin over a small ares to test, the idea was for the resin to weep into the hairline cracks and gouges to seal them before applying any required filler. I used a roller to apply the resin to the hull and it looked good for a couple of minutes, then it all went wrong. The resin formed hundreds of little globules/islands and no amount of brushing or using a roller would give me a smooth even coat.
What has happened???

I have attached a file that show the result, the epoxy has been tinted yellow.



Regards
Bruce

 

did you dewax the area to be epoxied? That is what it sounds like your prob was. What brand of epoxy did you use?

 

Have you used any wax containing silicons? If that is the case, save your energy. Your hull cannot anymore done this way, forever.

 

That was my first thought, that the hull had some wax or something else on it as well. However it's an old hull and was badly weathered, the Gel coat was oxidized pretty well all over. I gave it a good sanding, washed it with "sugar soap" and finally a good rinse. It was then left to dry for a couple of weeks. Before applying any epoxy resin I wiped it over with thinners and then acetone. I bought the epoxy resin from a local boat builder, he decanted it from a couple 44 drums, I don't know the brand.

Can you test for wax or silicons.

 

Silicones are almost imposible to get rid of. You might have some success with methelene cloride(sp) Maybe try wet sanding and wipeing while still wet. M.C. is nasty stuff wear a respirator and gloves. I have always had to open the cracks up with a small cutter and fill them with thickened resin and then sand .