anyone got some guidance on getting cleaner pin lines with resin? i know i can clean these up with sandpaper and a razor but is there a trick to better lines right from the tape pull? (it’s not bleed it’s from wet resin spilling out)
If you pull the tape just before it sets, you will get a straighter edge. The resin flows and evens up… A good tape job is key. Some guys use a wall paper seam roller. Others run their razor blade around the edge. I use a thimble. But man I am so out of practice. When you haven’t done one for awhile, the process and fear of failure is a little intimidating. I don’t understand what you mean about wet resin. If you pull the tape at the right time, the resin will level.
To me it looks like you built the resin up too high. Maybe its just distortion in the pic. You can use the masking tape like a screed and pull a razor blade across the top to keep the thickness of the pinline to the the thickness of the tape.
I use a roller or a burnisher to keep the tape down tight. I still get a little bleed at times.
Like said, pull the tape when it gels and you shouldn’t have any runny-ness to the resin.
Never tried pin lines.
But in the dark ages — many solar cycles ago — I would use opaque “polyester” resin to create shapes over the fin box. For polyester resin, seemed like I got clean lines when I pulled tape almost immediately after applying resin — but I glassed in a hot garage during TX summer.
Two things are critical;
- Correct time to pull the tape,
- Use high quality tape.
I use epoxy resin now. For me it is much harder to get a clean tape-pull line with epoxy. Immediately after, the resin runs/spreads for me.
Simple way to find the best approach is to do “timed” tape pulls on “test panel” pin lines.
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I agree, but in this case he states
So I don’t think tape is the issue here.
Timing is important because the resin should be gelled enough that it doesn’t “spill out” when the tape is pulled.
Looking at the pics closely, 2 things appear to stand out to me. 1, it looks like the thickness of the pinlines is excessive, and 2, it looks like he is adding pinlines before the fiberglass texture is filled in.
I think he needs to go with a thinner resin application, hence the suggestion to level off the pinline resin using a razor blade to scrape the top with the tape acting as a screed. This was suggested to me by Kensurf, who always produced beautiful pin lines. I also think he needs to wait until the board is nearly finished, then add pinlines last, on a smooth surface where the fiberglass cloth has no texture.
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Agreed.
But with epoxy, I have seen a jagged effect when I pull tape too late — resin is gelled but not solid.
I haven’t done timed test panels yet — hasn’t been a high priority for my projects over the last few years. So far, not perfect like I got with polyester, but the cleanest epoxy tape lines have been when the residual resin in my paper plate forms stiff peeks (and then returns to flat after several seconds) when poked with a wooden match stick. I need to time and poke for refinement though.
BTW many moons ago, with poor quality tape, I have seen “bleed under.”
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I have always been a fan of painted pin lines. I like the way that guy in the Harbour YouTube video did them, pull tape, press it down and use a tube of Artist Acrylic. Squeeze it right out of the tube and lightly squeegee it flat using a 2” cut plastic squeegee. Gloss over it and you’re done. Of course resin pins are the way to go if you are not going to gloss, because they last longer, don’t wear off etc. I used to use flat acrylic house paint and an air brush or cup gun with a small tip. An old guy like me has to use the three piece tape method of course. Can’t see well enough and too shakey.
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Yeah that close up tells me he didn’t put the pin line down on the hot coat but rather the laminated cloth. I’ll take a pic of a board I did a couple of years ago that I put a pin line down on and I glossed over it too soon. It came out weirdly sloppy. I liked it so much though that I left it. I still have the board because it is a “pro-type” “Hull”.
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Hey all, just to clarify some points of question, the pins are put down on a sanded hot coat (the weave you see is from it being 6oz pigmented cloth and some sand throughs.
I really appreciate everyone’s advice and responses, this time i redid the pin lines and waited a little longer to pull the tape and get way more consistent lines but still waited to long and it was a little jagged.
I sanded with a piece of 320 wrapped around a razor and got great results.
I think the issue i’m facing is bad timing and technique in my tape pull.
i pulled the tape away from the line and got drag out instead of directly up and in, i also think i put too much resin over the tape.
Thanks again,
Nick
