I need some good techniques to wetting your laps on Lam coats (I should mention
that I am using Resin Research epoxy). Ok…I’ve seen the 101 videos and those guys use about 5 times the resin that Greg Leohr recommends with his RR epoxy. So instead of just mixing huge batches and letting most of it run on the floor, I know there has to be some better ways to soak your deck and wet your laps while still using a small amount of resin. I see alot of epoxy users talk about only having several drips fall to the ground…which sounds nice, but how can you totally soak your laps and do this?
After doing two boards now and having to go back over the laps to add more resin,
The best part about using the epoxies is the long pot life. I pour just enough mixed resin onto the board to lam the flat part, deck or bottom, first. Squeegee that all around, out to maybe an inch from where the curve down to the rail really starts. You don’t need to press hard, it seeks its own level pretty well. Keep working that, not letting any resin get near the rails to drip off. Move off any wet spots - you want the weave showing everywhere. Deep pools might crack or yellow, and if they’re shiny you’ll have to sand them rough before hotcoating. I use one of the hard plastic squeegees, like 5" or so on epoxy. You can actually pick up the extra resin and put it back in the pot with the squeegee, or just keep moving it a little closer to the edges.
Once the whole flat area is done, start working the rails. Pour a little bead - maybe 1/2" thick - right along the wet edge you left before, and only about 18" long. Set the pot down and use the squeegee to move the resin into the glass that’s hanging off the side, using your other (gloved) hand behind the glass. Don’t try to wrap the rail cloth yet. Pour your next 18" and wet out the glass there too. It takes a very surprisingly small amount of resin to do this, especially because your hand & fingers behind the hanging cloth can help the squeegee find the dry spots. I work one entire side of the board like this, 18" at a time. By the time you get to the far end, you’ll have a few drips on the floor, but nothing like if you pour to the rails and try to squeegee while the whole thing is raining resin and you’re chasing drips with your pot while trying to saturate the big wide flat area at the same time. You’ll also have your hanging strings that you go back now & cut off with scissors (I use all-metal ones that clean easily because your gloves & the cloth are wet with resin.) Once you’ve cut off the hangers, use the squeegee to lap the cloth. Start in the middle of the board & work towards the ends, which pulls the cloth along the curves without wrinkling it.
Then do the other side of the board, same way. You can always mix less epoxy then you plan on using, because you can add more to the same mix/lam in the middle. I also keep a few little wax-paper lined square molds ready with 10 or so layers of cloth in them (fin bases for box fins) in case I have extra resin after laminating.
The two I did I used a 3 inch throw away brush to wet the laps out. I didn’t have to worry about run off. I cost me a couple of bucks but it was worth it. Just paint the laps very carefully so you don’t pull a bunch of strings out of the end of the cuts on the glass. After they’re pretty well wetted out go after them with a squeegee to get an good resin to glass ratio. Start in the middle and work toward the ends with both the brush and the squeegee.
I’ve done all different size boards & different glass schedules. On the (unsealed) 1# EPS, I remember it took about 2 oz resin per 1’ of board (before hardener) for 6x6 glassing, more for 6x6x6, even more for 10x10.
I’ve also done traditional blanks with epoxy resins and use is about 60%.
Yesterday, I did the bottom layer on a snapped Patagonia I’m putting back together. For a 23" wide board (right in the middle of a longboard), I’m using a 4oz layer to the rails and a 6 oz layer wrapped over, each side. The 4 oz patch is 18" long, the 6 oz is 19". So round up to 2’ x 2’? I mixed 4 oz of resin and 1 oz of hardener. I also usually mix in a little Cabosil, expecially when its cold outside, because the pot life is sometimes just too long. Helps keep the drips down, too, but I don’t do it for a new lam. Considering that there was already well-sanded but hardened cloth under the patch it would soak less then straight on a blank. But I also used some of the resin to mash into the rough parts of the crack with some chopped glass. So it still comes out at 2 oz / foot of board before hardener…
i use a 4" roller to spread the epoxy and do the laps… it works insane. i can wet out the whole deck and the rails in under 5mins. this method eliminates the squeege pull that sends all the drips to the floor. after it is all wett out then i attack with the squeege. the roller covers are cheap at fiberglass hawaii (like $4.00 for two) so i just toss em…
a few moinths ago i posted lots of pics of my roller method.this wets out the rails well and very littl mess on the floor. i have since got roller covers with very short knapps and do my fibreglass hawaii epoxy boards with it(still waiting to get Gregs resin)
The guy who taught me how to glass a board said that there was a technique that he used to glass 12’+ boards where he wetted out the lap while it was folded back up onto the deck. I never saw him do it so I don’t know the exact procedure or whether he just poured it or brushed it on. He said, “why fight gravity?” Even with that much lapped, thick fiberlass cloth his lams were never dry. He also liked to keep his scissors very sharp so there were very few hanging threads to slow him down.
Hey LeeDD have you ever heard of this, or was he just pulling a couple of teenagers’ legs?
Check out Cleanline’s video on glassing. He shows how to fold the laps onto the top (using poly in the vid.). I’m sure it would work the same with epoxy. Worth a look…it’s a great glassing video - puts all others to shame in my opinion. Pete
Daddio, I’m not the brightest light in the woods, but believe it or not, I always thought everybody wet out the flats first from the center out, then flipped the dry laps up, poured resin 3/4" wide bead on the lap trailed 12" by squeegee light stroke, then light squeegee in the opposite direction, then flip down and under with the squeegee.
Seems to take about 2 minutes to wet out the flats, about 4 more to wet and flip the rails, and then take your final 7 minutes to pour a baseball sized splotch of resin on the center of mass and squeegee out the bits evenly until it drips onto the floor, squeegeeing resin into 100% of the lam, ensuring complete saturation.
Well, I’ve got to throw my .02 in here as well. Everyone has their own way of doing it. I’m doing all EPS/epoxy on my boards so this should apply to your question. Am using Greg’s approximate resin vol. on the chart that is in archives but you should consider that for 6oz. and double lams you will need more volume. I’ve wet out laps both ways, leave them hanging and also folded up on top for wet out. I’ve always gone back to the folded up on top method. Works for me and very well for epoxy lams. I do mine slightly different than posted above. Since epoxy doesn’t like to be “pushed” into the weave, I flip my laps and pour a bead of resin on the lap FIRST. Next I’ll pour the main vol. of resin down the flats. By now the rail lap has saturated slightly and I’ll pull the resin bead around the lap line to fully saturate. I don’t let it get too limp, go by feel here, easier to flip when the cloth is stiff. Use the tip of your squeegee to flip it down once saturated and leave the laps alone. Work the flats and pull the epoxy out towards the rails. You will be surprised how little drips to the floor. (usually only a couple of ounces of waste max.)
The downside of doing it this way is having to trim up your strings and pulls from the extra handling. This works for me, try it both ways and find out which you like best.
I do mine (epoxy) the same way, lay out on the flat and work to just before the drop off on the rails with the glass still hanging. Pour a bead along the top of the rails and work under with a brush. I spent about 3/4 hr to make sure everything is wetted out.
For my last board, 5’6", I used approx 200ml each side over 5oz made up from 2 batches.
With Greg’s resin, I use a 1" brush to paint the bottom of the hanging lap as soon as I have the flats wetted out. Wetting laps takes as much resin as the rest of the whole lam and with epoxy going for $60.00 a gal there’s not much room to coat the floor. I use micro wave tubs that dinners come in, about 10" x 8" only an inch and a half deep. It keeps the resin from getting too hot this way and the rear edge fits under the lap to paint it and catch the dripping resin. They come clean after the resin kicks and are great for wetting out fin rope too
I’ve glassed a few boards by laying the lap up on the rails.And pouring resin on the lap and working it in.I’ve used this on longboards with alot of rail area.With epoxy I work the resin in with the lap down. Since I use less epoxy and longer pot time with epoxy.I also use a 5 gal. bucket of hot water to warm my epoxy on cold days. Gordon