It's OK Professor
I'm glad you got some Gary2 Slims. He is a meticulous builder and his plugs are very strong producers.
I do a small batch of epoxy at a time. 1 pump of resin and 1 pump of hardener equals about 5 or 6 drams (in a medicine cup) of epoxy mix. I get 8 or 10 plugs out of the batch depending on the size of the plugs. You really can't do too many at a time because you have to wipe off any excess and clear the lip slot and wire hole before the epoxy hardens. The stuff hardens much faster than normal due to the high temp of the blank. So:
I mix a batch of the epoxy, quickly coat the plugs, wipe them down, mix another batch, etc till I'm done. Doing 50 plug blanks took me about a hour.
After the epoxy cures (overnight) I prime with Kilz Red Label primer. Then I lay on a coat of Createx Base Coat sealer (either white or black depending upon the desired paint color), spray on my colors, and then I wire and apply the final coat of epoxy to the outside. I do not use a separate clear coat or scratch coat. I epoxy right over the paint. I will use the West Systems for final finish unless I'm painting over pure white. White plugs will continue to get a coat of Systems 3 Mirror Coat or Clear coat depending upon the plug.
John E I've used this method with excellent results on birch, AYC and Western Red. I heard of 2 plugs of mine that were Western Red that split last year. I think that this was due to me having to drill out the hardened epoxy from the through hole in a batch that I neglected to clean out during the sealing process. I probably got down into unprotected wood on those plugs and the WR swells like a sponge. I haven't experience any other problems doing it like this. No delamination, no peeling.
Rock,
I'm sorry to hear that you will not be able to complete the swap. Do what you have to do. I'll come and buy some of your plugs at the Asbury Show!
Patrick