Adding clear epoxy is necessary in order to add screenprinted detail layers to the edited designs. This will give the soft-enamel pins in question a flat, even surface. If I don't add epoxy to all the pins then the Crab, Oarfish and Mandarinfish will have the smooth surface but the other rainbow-plated pins will have the usual soft-enamel effect of the colour level dipping below the enamel. Epoxy may slightly increase production time, increase seconds rates, or slightly change the colour of the rainbow-plating, but these effects may also be negligible. (I haven't worked with epoxy on enamel pins before so I'm going by reported differences from fellow pin-makers.)