Hi guys, sorry for the Newbie Question,  but this is really giving me some grief.

Hi Tango. Sorry to hear about the drawing of resin you are going through. I had the same issue but fixed it by maintaining brush strokes and applying a little warmth from a heat gun to accelerate the working time of the resin. Basically keep using soft even strokes with the brush for your first beauty coat of resin. 

Hi - for this approach you can try using glass tissue or glass veil. This is like tissue paper and will hold your epoxy "together" so won't bead. Your cloth supplier should have some. This is std approach for first layer off moulds and chemical resistant parts so the first layer is thick and consistant.  Peter  tissue is usually 25 or 30g per sqm.

You can also add enough of a thixotropic powder like cabosil to make the resin thicker (honey like) so that it can still be still brushed on.

Many thanks for the advice guys. I've just received my next batch of materials, so the experimentation will continue!

You can not change the ratio of hardener to resin without affecting the properties of the resulting epoxy matrix in your part .. It is a chemical reaction that takes place between to reagents - they need to be in precise proportion to create the chemical bonds between the correct number on molecules to achieve the properties that you want ..  Epoxy hardener is not an "accelerant" or "catalyst" like the MEKP in polyesters.

Stick to to correct ratios as closely as at all possible ..

To be able to brush in a gelcoat, use some fumed silica in the "top layer" or a specific Gelcoat .  With the High temp Epoxy from EC, I have always used vacuum bagging with no attempt at "gelcoating", then added several layers of either 2k clearcoat or High temp Epoxy to the part, after having very lightly keyed the surface, and cleaned it with acetone.  I've had very nice cosmetic results with this tech-  For parts that must live out in the sunlight, I've always used high temp clear coat .. I have made exhaust end cans /covers that have lasted years without any UV damage or yellowing.

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Thanks for the reply.

You could try not adding the clear coat to the mold and spraying it on the part later.