[Rebel1]

Hi Ant..you wont have a problem with the epoxy and the woven cloth, but you will have a problem with the chopped strand mat. Chopped strand mat is held together with a binder which dissolves in polyester, but wont dissolve in epoxy. There are special chopped strand mats available for epoxies but hard to get in small amounts.

I would recommend you visit a custom boatbuilder and get a small amount of a heavy fiberglass cloth. (maybe the cloth you currently have will do). Cloth does not use a binder. Pull the cloth to pieces so you end up with lengths of the glass welt, (like small rope) then cut that into short lengths and fluff it up into loose glass fibers. Mix this glass with your epoxy resin to a gooey fibrous mess. then apply as you would a putty to just under the finished surface. Before it hardens completely(can still mark it with a fingerprint) apply the same resin ( but no glass) mixed with talc or microballoons as a final filler...sand it next day.

Epoxy has a significantly higher secondary bond than polyester and is somewhat more flexible. It is not normally used in a repair situation you described. Generally, because of the need to keep all body surfaces expanding at similiar amounts.

However, as a high quality surfacing compound, it is unsurpassed. ( again, because of its higher secondary bond strength and flexibility.

Hope it works out for you.