Will epoxy coat smooth over imperfections?

[ianj99]

My hull has been slurry blasted. The surface has many minor imperfections around 0.5mm deep and over the whole hull. I understand that I must epoxy before any filling to provide a good key?
Will the epoxy do anything to fill these 'holes' or will I still have effectively the same surface?
If I have to use filler ( as I suspect ) then I am concerned to understand the practicallities of the process. I understand ( thanks to responses on my previous thread) that I can/should put on an epoxy coat then do the filling on tacky epoxy then fair off the filler when the filler and epoxy are still uncured ( this sounds messy).
In terms of effort, mess and timing could I do the whole hull; epoxy and fill then let it all completly cure and fair off the hardened surface. This would provide the key for the next epoxy coat.
In terms of labour and epoxy cure time could 1 (old) guy epoxy and fill both sides of a 33' hull in a session or should he settle for one or (better) look for volunteers ( this is the' big society' after all)
Finally will microballoons mixed with the epoxy be ok or should I go for a 'readymix' product?
Many thanks, guys, for the good information and help to date.

You might like to try some epoxy mastic from

http://rust.co.uk

It is more than capable of filling .5mm depressions and easy to sand. I'm using it on my steel ketch where the 2pack top coat has become brittle and loose in a few places.
Last spring I crudely filled a gouge where the toe rail meets the side deck and left it unpainted (no UV protection).
Its still intact and attached to the substrate, ready for sanding and overpainting.
I