Hi
I have used both resin on its own and resin with cloth.
The main thing is to have a sound and clean hull, with no lumps bumps or gaps, sand it down v smooth, clean with white spirit, then clean with acetone - available from hairdresser suppliers!
You will need 2 coats of resin whichever way you go, if using cloth, apply a thin coat, wipe off the excess with card, cut up from cereal packets, and lay the cloth over the hull in one peice, it will absorb into the resin. When all is set and hard, trim off the excess cloth and recoat with resin. This will both waterproof and strengthen your hull.
Aim to get the second coat of resin within 12 hours of the first if possible, this will give a chemical bond rather than a mechanical bond, and is much stronger. Dont be surprised if the final coat takes a few days to harden properly, oh, and try not to do it in damp or humid conditions or you may get a 'bloom' a milky white colour on the resin - ugly more than harmful.
The use of cloth primarily gives stregth, the resin waterproofs.
Then, smooth off the resin when hard using v fine wet/dry - its a long slow process but worth the effort. Try to avoid sanding back to wood, or you will need more resin!
Finish to your choice - paint or varnish.
I have used this method on models and 1:1 scale - it works for me!
have a look at the slo mo shun build log on this forum, there are resin related comments on there too.
Good luck
Ian
