RE: Glassing with Polycrylic instead of epoxy resin.
branded... sorry I overlooked what you said about applying the first layer. I'll take your advice about not adding microballoons when laying the cloth.
Jim...my test pieces are solid blocks with rounded and cornered edges so I can get a good feel of how things will work. Since they are solid there was no warping. I think I was under the false impression that if I applied sanding sealer then there wouldn't be any warping to deal with. So, my main concern was stopping the balsa from soaking up the resin or poly.
I'm thinking there's no way to create an entirely smooth surface with the resin or poly alone and we'll have to rely some on several layers of primer.
I think it was Caffeenman's website (not sure) but I read that you should expect to do up to 8 coats of primer sanding between each coat. I did do this on a glassed test piece last week and it turned out great after painting.
Damon