air bubbles

During my very first lamination I had a really hard time eliminating air bubbles. I have tried to squeeze them over the end of the rail but they stayed there since resin started turning sticky even if I ran it with only 1% of catalyst. Please help me since I can’n throw another blank away! P.S.:I did everything explained in glassing 101 video

Sorry to hear about your troubles, but everyone runs into some kind of trouble starting out. My suggestion is to post what size board you are glassing (as this will dictate how much lam resin you need), and generally where you are. Your location can change the amount of catalyst you should use (factors such as temperature and humidity). Chances are that someone from the board will be in you general area and can give you your starting point (amount of catalyst vs. resin). Another suggestion is to get a better way of measuring your catalyst. Most fiberglass supply companies sell a plastic bottle with what looks like a shot glass mounted on top of it. You squeeze the bottle and the shot glass fills with catalyst. The shot glass has milli leters (sorry about the spelling) marked on it. And keep track of how many MLs you used with X amount of resin. This will help you down the road, when you need to add more or less do to the weather (winter for example). Keeping track of MLs is much easier than trying to figure out percentages. My guess is that you will be able to get over your air bubble problem once you get your mix right.

One more thing, you could skip the whole catalst problem in your lamination process with sun cure resin additive. It works well. No catalyst needed (although you might want to mix a little up separate to put under any laminates you want to put on the board), it kicks off when exposed to UV rays. If you have a good place to work, with no sunlight coming in, you could spend as much time as you want working in the resin. Once you’re done, just take it outside and with good light it will fully kick in about 5 mins.

i read that you said you used 1% catalyst and the resin still went off too fast. this could be because you are doing it in direct sunlight. i dont know your glassing setup, but i’ve found that whenever i use any resin in direct sunlight, no matter how much catalyst… it goes of WAY to fast.

I mixed resin & cat with a gram-precision digital scale, so the stuff was absolutely mixed at 1%, and I was in an underground and completely dark car box, the only cause that I suppose is that the cloth wasn’t completely flat since fingerprint and distortion for re-rolling it on an older tube (I’ve bought it at yard-lenght, not the entire roll) may have caused some zone to rise up even if saturated and create air bubbles underneath. Excessive lenght of the overlapped part of cloth gave me troubles too because resin dripped along the bends leaving dry many strips. Oh it sucks guys… (thanks to everybody answering)

What was the room/resin temp.?And what was the amount of resin to cat.ratio,eg. 11cc/1qt.(forgive me for my “shotgun visioned” math skills)? How much time from mixing to gel(gel time)? glass amounts(# of layers),and weights(4oz,6oz.)? Board dimentions(all numbers).LASTLY the over lap length(1",2",3")in the area you are having the air problems with.If you can answer these questions we should be able to hammer the problem quickly.Herb

hey danny here is a tip that i figured out the hard way. you didn’t say exactly where the bubbles were but if they were near the back where the board has a hard edge then it is because the corner that you are trying to wrap is too sharp. i have found that if i take one pass with 220 sandpaper along the sharp rails then i can get the glass to wrap (without bubbles) the radius which this process leaves. i just wrap the paper around the edge and pull it along. i guess you could also use a very fine screen. you don’t need very much pressure - just enough to take off the hard corner. this hard edge is later built up with a tape dam around the back off the board during hot coating like in glassing 101. give it a try if you think it will help. trev

During my very first lamination I had a really hard time eliminating air > bubbles. I have tried to squeeze them over the end of the rail but they > stayed there since resin started turning sticky even if I ran it with only > 1% of catalyst. Please help me since I can’n throw another blank away!>>> P.S.:I did everything explained in glassing 101 video If you want to salvage the blank, cut the air bubbles out with a utility razor knife. Then sand the edges of the cut out area down as level to the surroundiong glass as you can get. Blow all the dust out and patch with the cut out area with some cloth. Then sand the edges of the patch down and try to blend it as much as possible. Do this before the hot coat is applied. Then apply the hot coat and sand. This should not hurt the performace of your board although the aesthetics might leave something to be desired. I speak from experience. Good luck. h2ofxk

room temp: 20°C resin: 1kg catalyst:10grams cloth: 4 oz x one layer board§: 6’1"x18"3/4x2"3/8 nose 9" tail 12" swallow tail thanks to everone has tried to help me

I’ve had pin air just from trying to go as light as possible and squeegeeing too hard. Basically I took off too much resin. I’ve had some success pouring a flood coat of laminating resin back on the board and working it into the air bubbles with a squeegee. For bigger holes, try obtaining a syringe and 18 guage needle (maybe a veterinarian supply or feed store) and injecting catalyzed resin into the holes. For big drips on the overlap that may have gelled before you could work them out, carefully surform them out. We’ve all been there! No board is “perfect”!

I mixed resin & cat with a gram-precision digital scale, so the stuff > was absolutely mixed at 1%, and I was in an underground and completely > dark car box, the only cause that I suppose is that the cloth wasn’t > completely flat since fingerprint and distortion for re-rolling it on an > older tube (I’ve bought it at yard-lenght, not the entire roll) may have > caused some zone to rise up even if saturated and create air bubbles > underneath. Excessive lenght of the overlapped part of cloth gave me > troubles too because resin dripped along the bends leaving dry many > strips. Oh it sucks guys… (thanks to everybody answering) Dude, I feel for you cause I’ve been there! It gets better everytime you do it – meaning that the air bubbles go away as you get better with the catalyst/resin mixture. By the way, I’m impressed with the use of the digital scale. I use a little cup that has the cc and ml markings on the side and have followed the resin specs identified in Surfboard by Transmedia. It also has the MSDS sheets in the book which can be handy. An additional disclaimer: Phillips, Herb and the rest have more skill in one finger than my entire being. My contributions should be viewed as the posts of an eager neophyte trying to get better at this craft. For what it is worth… Magoo

Your air temp is to cold.You need to warm up the Resin in a bucket of hotwater,or bring up the temp in your room.(75-80 degrees are ideal).With this in mind mix you resin/cat ratio @ 1qt. to 11cc.this should give you 25-35 minutes of time before gelling.Herb.

Your tips are great! Thank you bor being so generous sharing them with me!

Danny,…I tend to agree with john mellor on this one. I’ve got a pretty good feeling that this problem is more physical than chemical…and I think that, the SQUEEGIE-ING technique may be the culprit. right amount of pressure is key. Also, If you are laminating two layers of cloth, simultaneously, as depicted in carl and john’s glassing 101 video - (as you mentioned you’d used as a reference)- maybe a little “shiftage” as well as a little “bubblage”. Look at me, a regular etymologist! Good luck,… tom. P.S…are you getting bubbles top AND bottom on your laminations? A good point of examination to figure this thing out.