What are the thoughts about using a clear acrylic as a base before spraying color. This was a trick I learned painting cars. It seals the tape and prevents bleeding under the edge. It gives a razor sharp line when the tape is pulled up. I have been afraid to try it on a surfboard,I thought it might seal the foam and create glassing issues.
sounds like a great idea, anyone try this before. i’m just as curious??
Sounds great to me, you are going to put acrylic on the foam anyway. Makes no difference whether your first coat is clear or not. I think Cleanlines has mentioned a similar solution in past threads. Let us know how it works. I’ve had good results using acrylic floor sealer (Future floor wax) to thin my paint rather than water. Dries fast and is more stable once dried. (great tip from Herb!). Tom S.
could the chances of getting crystallization be lowered?
Hey Teddy- I’ve never had a problem with the dreaded crystallization. I know that reds and darker colors are more probable. I try not to lay the paint on so thick that it blocks up the foam cells. I have found that the acrylic sealer used as a thinner gives my paint sprays a much better adhesion and virtually no powderery residue to bleed. The fact that it dries so quickly helps too. Tom S.
I usually spray clear just around the tape edge of graphics-the over spray goes into the area to be painted. As SS states it stops bleeding and gives a nice crisp line. Never had any major problems with crystals forming-probably as a result of aways spraying lightly. Patrick
When I have a health kick I take the time to spray in water based paints (Here in Australia the laws are not so tight with petroleum acrylics) - I have experimented with means to prevent bleeding of water based paint under the tape, and found that a small paintbrush line of clear works to seal it ! Works, but is very laborious and restrictive in production of large numbers of boards… http://www.speedneedle.com.au
I have tried this with a variety of acrylic mediums from Liquitex brand - gloss, matte, and satin finishes. The matte finish seems to work best with a small brush going around the tape line before spraying like Josh suggested. It does however, cause the foam to accept the paint differently. This is very apparent on just the blank, but once it’s glassed and especially with a sanded finish, it’s barely noticeable. Since I have only made 5 boards to this point, my experience is somewhat limited. The real issue I’ve run into is trying to keep the paint from lifting when removing the tape from my cut laps. If anyone has a suggestion for this, I’d love to hear about it. Thanks - Bryce http://www.jet1a.com
Howzit S.S., sounds like your tape isn’t sticking to the foam properly. A couple of tricks: I vacumn the areas that will get taped and before every spray coat I run my finger over the tape to make sure it’s stuck to the foam. Hope this helps. Aloha, Kokua
Kokua, I didn’t use a vacuum, good tip. I only used compressed air to blow it off and as a result I had a really hard time getting the tape to stick. It’s to late now but any tips for removing paint errors(bleeding)would be a big help in the future.Thanks again for the advice. Skip
I use a razor blade to VERY CAREFULLY scrape away the parts that bleed.