So I'm glassing my first board. First off the lam coat on the bottom came out pink, not enought red tint. I ran out of resin on the laps because it was all on the floor! I also felt the horrorr as I could feel the epoxy starting to set while there was still unsaturated cloth. I'm thinking I spent too long mixing the epoxy probably 5 min or so. With a little persistence I managed to turn a disaster into a managable mess. It got flipped over today and I sanded as best as I could to knock down the bumps.
The deck lamination went a lot better knowing what to expect. The one problem I have is some bubbles where I didnt' get the laps sanded close enough. There are about 6 ranging in size from pin size to slightly bigger than a pencil eraser. See picture below. The bright spot is from the camera flash.
Questions.
Do I sand through both layers of glass and fill in with a small patch in these bubbles?
I also have some puddling on both sides. Should I pull out the sanding pad and try to knock these areas down carefully before the hotcoat? If I do this should I wipe the board down with Denatured alcohol before the hotcoat to avoid fisheyes?
Also thinking of coloring the hotcoat to get the bottom side darker rather than hot pink. I have read this can come out streaky but that is better in my book than pink! Any help is appreciated.
I took the exacto knife to the bubbles and cut them out.
Tell me if I'm wrong here. Just mix qcell with epoxy or even easier fill the hole with tinted spackle (fast n final) then patch over with a small peice of glass before the hotcoat? The holes are pretty small so I don't think they are going to affect the structural integrity of the board in any way. By the way the deck came out red, thank god!!
Still wondering if it is a good idea to take the sanding pad to some of the lumps before the hotcoat? Then just wipe down with DNA before the hotcoat? Any suggestions?
Yes, sand down the lumps first, or you will hit them when you sand the hot coat. No DNA! No nothing! wipe off the dust with a clean dry brush. Otherwise you are asking for fisheyes.
If you don’t like the pink so bright, tint the hot coat, same color as the lam, but add more tint to it. You can’t change color by tinting the hot coat, but you can make the same color darker and richer.
What’s wrong with pink?
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Update your user profile to include your location. Please state what brand of resin you are using and what hardener.....fast slow....super slow...KK....I never use DNA...I've got Resin Research CE and KK wired....your bubbles are minor....sand it out keep going.....
I layed it out step by step......Stingray........
http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/first-epoxy-glass-job-s
Ok everything is updated
RR 2000 and RR 2100f. My garage is around 70-80 the resin is starting to become unworkable right around 20 min or so.
Anyways quick update. I cut those spots out filled them with tinted spackle and let them dry over night. Today I sanded them flush and put patches over them.
I used about 2x the amount of tint for the hot coat and it came out looking a much darker red which is what I was looking for. I guessed and used 6 oz total of epoxy for the hotcoat and it came out to be the perfect amount.The fixed areas are noticible along with the puddles but whatever. As long as it rides well I'm not too worried, plus the spots add charater.
After doing a lot of reading it seems like tinting dark colors on EPS is tricky business. The tint on the hotcoat came out really even and dark. Maybe this is the way to go in the future for tints.
I have to hot coat the bottom tomorrow. It has been sitting since Tuesday so I'm going to have to sand it down. Plus it will help I think to sand down the laps so I'm not hitting them when sanding the hotcoat. It is starting to look like a surfboard!
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Ok everything is updated
RR 2000 and RR 2100f. My garage is around 70-80 the resin is starting to become unworkable right around 20 min or so.
Anyways quick update. I cut those spots out filled them with tinted spackle and let them dry over night. Today I sanded them flush and put patches over them.
I used about 2x the amount of tint for the hot coat and it came out looking a much darker red which is what I was looking for. I guessed and used 6 oz total of epoxy for the hotcoat and it came out to be the perfect amount.The fixed areas are noticible along with the puddles but whatever. As long as it rides well I'm not too worried, plus the spots add charater.
After doing a lot of reading it seems like tinting dark colors on EPS is tricky business. The tint on the hotcoat came out really even and dark. Maybe this is the way to go in the future for tints.
I have to hot coat the bottom tomorrow. It has been sitting since Tuesday so I'm going to have to sand it down. Plus it will help I think to sand down the laps so I'm not hitting them when sanding the hotcoat. It is starting to look like a surfboard!
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Hello Foamball....I was a little grumpy last night.....
The resin and hardener you are using should give you well over 40 min working time before starting to set up.....at 75 to 80 degrees F.....and adding pigment to the resin slows the cure time so I'm a little puzzled...but you're past that now....
Doing longboards with clear resin it's not uncommon for me to mix up a batch, lam the board and then need to mix up a little extra just to do the over laps. First time glassing...lots to learn....Looks like everything is going to work out.
Thanks for up dating your location....I thought you were in Canada working in cold wet windy conditions.....
Nothing against Canada....epoxy likes warm weather....
Ray
Thanks for the feedback Ray. I was able to hotcoat both sides, no fish eyes to speak of, just 2 unlucky moths that found their way into the resin. I will most likely get into sanding it tomorrow. I might have to do another hotcoat, not sure if 6 oz per side was enough. I should be able to get everything even but there might be some high spots from the lam.
How much epoxy do you normally use to hotcoat a 6'0"?
6 oz was enough on the deck but on the bottom side ended up mixing an extra ounce and a half and dumping it in bringing to total to 7.5 oz to hide the laps. I will start a new thread with pictures from the journey.
foamball, Greg Loehr has some youtube vids you should watch before your next glass episode. or PM me and you can come watch me sometime in Tampa.
Thanks Greg, I watched some videos on youtube but didn't see any Loher videos other than the one with his hotwire and shaping EPS. The other videos on youtube can be suspect at best. People with my skill level post up how to videos which I always find entertaining.
Trying to do the resin tint might have been more than I was capable of LOL. Overall it should sand out ok, the color will just look a bit crappy.