Wow dude. It looks amazing!!! Tell someone that this is the first board you ever built and watch their minds get blown. You knocked it out of the park in my opinion. Bet you’re glad you didn’t chop it up into little pieces now hey?? Great job man.
Nice recovery! It surprised me that no one mentioned UV resin as a future aid to longer lamination times. In a dark glassing space with minimum artificial light you can take a long time before it really starts to kick. Some styrene evaporation will cause it to thicken but you’ll still have more time to work out wonkiness before it kicks.
Maybe also worth mentioning is that, from what I can gather, two types of filler have been recommended(?) Light weight “Spackle” is generally an acrylic or water based filler while the cabosil/micro balloons get mixed with resin to make an automotive type ‘bondo’ putty that needs to be mixed with catalyst and will have a finite working time.
If you can find the light weight “Spackle” type filler, I’d say go with that. Many guys smear it over the entire blank when using EPS foam. Some of the old school polyurethane blanks would get a sealer coat of spackle as well. It is much easier to sand and it seems to take to air brush paints OK. I’ve seen some damaged blanks get completely Spackled, sanded and sprayed white before being glassed. When the entire blank is spackled and sanded, the surface can end up pretty nice.
Not trying to contradict any of the sound advice already given. Just my .02.
A very nice recovery. The fin patch is a nice touch and yes a smaller pin always looks better. But if you are trying to hide to much stuff, you have to go wider. Next one will be better on the laps. And yes UV is a big help, but cut laps are difficult for a beginner in UV. On sanding and scratches; Sand longer at each grit. Sand long enough in each grit to know that you cannot remove any further scratches without going to the next grit. After a thorough sanding in 1000, you shouldn’t have any scratches. And; Should be able to go straight to #2 Polish and skip the Compound. Usually what screws up a Gloss & Polish is not spending enough time sanding in each grit. If left over scratches are minor you can use “Finesse” scratch remover on a pad . Works good .
McDing’s advice is spot on, especially if you want to get it to show room perfection. On the other hand, you can always get the bottom ‘smooth enough’ and don’t worry too much about the deck, since wax will be all over it; then ride. Either way, good job.
Some kind comments here, thanks guys - and useful advice, as always. That’s what I suspected with the leftover scratches. I didn’t take that long on each grit once I got past 320. Will try longer for each stage next time and see if that helps.
Although I may do a sanded finish on the next board as it is going to be a standard shortboard so I don’t really want the extra weight of a gloss coat. I’ve printed out the template today and hopefully i’m ordering the blank and glass in the next few days! I’m thinking of trying a posca pinline on top of the hotcoat and then finishing with either concrete sealer or a clear coat from a spray can. I have seen this done to good effect on a couple of YouTube channels.
has anyone got experience of using concrete sealer for the finishing coat? I have seen an Aussie shaper on YouTube, channel name is Shrednaught, who applies it with a paint roller and it seems to work great.
Other channels I have watched that have really helped are Tanner Bendheim (Now Bendheim Boards) and another shaper who has the greatest enthusiasm ever - Koby Maymon Surfboards. All three are great channels and are done from an amateur/semi pro perspective so they make shaping seem achievable for the first timer. Aside from the great advice i’ve received here on swaylocks, I also owe these three shapers much thanks.
oh and yeah I used a light spackle for the foam repairs. It looks ok - hasn’t taken the pigment quite so well but you have to look to find it if you don’t know exactly where the repairs are.
right now I have to wait for some surf to arrive. It’s strong winds with low swell period for the next few days so I’m going to have to be patient…
Depending upon the brand of sealer; Usually it can be wiped on with a clean cotton rag or sponge. Two coats insure an even application. Watch out for drips or runs along the bottom edge of the rail. After both sides are thoroughly dry, “burnish” by going over the entire board with an Orbital Sander and a “Maroon” 3M Pad. Not necessary to glue or spray adhesive the pad to the Orbital Sander. You can usually just hold the sander down on the pad. I buy and use Behr Floor and Tile sealer from Home Depot. There is much discussion about this process in the Archives.