Each keel is toed-in at 1/4". But one is a 3 degree cant and the other drifted to about 7 degrees. Other than major surgery on the drifted keel, how will it affect the ride? Live with it? Or…
Hey Grit,
I would deinitely ride it first.
If you mean cant angle when you say cam, the 7 degree will make that fin looser, the 3 degree will be stiffer. If the 7 degree fin corresponds with your backhand, you will have a board that is drivey on your forehand and loose on your backhand. Sounds fun to me.
Some big oops turn out to be beneficial.
220,
It would bug me too. I’d fix it. Mike
Hotcoated both sides before I noticed it. How would I repair it so it’s as strong and looks as good as the original? Sand off the glass completely on the one fin and then grind down at the base. Remove fin and grind down next to lam weave? Then start all over again??
Yup, unfortunately…
After re-glassing and getting to past the hotcoat stage, think it’ll look decent enough to proceed to glossing the entire bottom??? (I haven’t glossed the bottom yet anyway…). If I wait to see how it surfs (after glossing) then it’s a whole new can of worms fixing it and having to regloss the entire bottom to blend?? Or will a patch gloss blend in fine???
Way easier if you do it now or alot less work anyways…
Aloha 220 grit
I would leave it and ride it. Feel which fin has the bite you like and which has the lift or release you like. Then reset both fins to a new cant that makes sense based on actually riding experience.
It isn’t hard to blend in a gloss. Sand the fin areas as normally done to finish them out for a gloss. That would be out to around 100 to 220 grit. Then sand out a few inches beyond that area with 400 grit, just to clean it and make it able to grip the new gloss resin.
When you regloss the area, gloss out over the heavier sandpaper scratches, with the gloss resin going out half way onto the 400 grit area. Design the edge of the gloss to be a singular edge with the minimal length possible, especially on the flat areas. Then dry out the brush and suck up any excess gloss resin that is at the edge of the gloss where it hits the 400 grit area, thin it out and make it easier to sand down into the old gloss.
Sand the edge of the gloss with heavier grit like 320 grit or maybe 400 grit depending on how high the gloss bump is. Use a hard pad spinning fast, say 3,000 rpm or so. This will allow it to cut the tops off the bump without hitting the other areas. Knock off the higher area of new gloss by lightly kissing the tops of the bump. Do this untill it blends down into the old area reducing the grit at the end to 600 grit. Then buff with compound and buffing pad and then polish with polish and polishing pad.
Now you will be surfing better and looking good at the same time!
I should also mention that the whole bottom is a dark blue resin tint and the keels are blue. My questions:
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grinding/sanding down to the bottom around the fin, I guess take it down until I hit the blue lam cloth?
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is it neccessary to sand each side of the fin all the way down to original or can I just hit the bottom inch or so? The do a “baby” cloth patch on each side. Or get new fins and start from scratch?
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where should I start when grinding/cutting/sanding the fin off - horizontally on the bottom (on the board surface) and go towards the fin or vertically down the side of the fin to the bottom of the board? Thanks.
p.s. it’s not my board but I’d think this whole problem is not TOO bad considering that a fish a mainly used for speed and hard turns aren’t the norm?
220,
Great advice from Bill and I defer all previous and future advice to him. I would take it down to the hotcoat. I would sand the fin down to the original shape and foil. I would not get new fins(unless you want an excuse to get another set of fins). I would cut down verically,horizontally, and at an angle until I could jiggle that fin free without damaging the underlining foam. mike
I’ve had good luck removing glass ons with a dremel & cut off wheel. You can angle it in right through the fillet & aim for the base of the fin. Once its off, you can sand the fin smooth without worrying about the board. To smooth the board, tape off everything around the bump & then go light on the fillet.
But I’d ride it first, for sure. Maybe you’ll want them both at 7*, you just never know…
You probably won’t feel much diff in the degrees of cant becauase a fish has such a large volume, and remember you basically ride on one side of it - one fin and one pin - that you probably won’t notice it. But if you do, it’ll be a looser backhand and more drive on the forehand (as suggested earlier) and both of those are a good thing 
You fatter me Mike. Thanks
Your comments about cutting the fins off is similar to what I would do. See my further comments to 220.
Quote:
I should also mention that the whole bottom is a dark blue resin tint and the keels are blue. My questions:[reply/]Good questions 220.
I should also have mentioned that you shoudn’t use any tape to mask off the flat areas for glossing. Due to the high surface tension of the gloss resin, the tape causes the resin to “build” at the taped edge creating edges that are very difficult to blend in. Free spreading the gloss without tape creates a naturally tapered edge that can be more easily blended. Just make sure you thin out the edge. Don’t allow it to puddle up.
If you want to enhance the hard edge, tape 1/16" below it and stoke the brush sideways to puddle a little gloss on the edge so there is more material to cut in and square off the hard edge. Of course you have to know and understand the timing of the gel so that it all doesn’t run off or create other problems.
If you want to have a tape/resin edge that is easier to buff in. Tape around onto the deck rail area 1" from the hard edge and let the gloss flow around down the rail and over the tape. Remember to 400 grit the area so that the gloss won’t chip off later. Sometimes having a flatter area to blend in the edge is less risking then trying to buff off the seam right on the apex of the curve or edge. Other times the apex make it less noticeable if you screw up.
- grinding/sanding down to the bottom around the fin, I guess take it down until I hit the blue lam cloth?
Removing the GlassOn fins can be tricky but it can be done such that no one would ever know. The favorite tool of a skilled surfboard craftsmen will always be the 7" grinder. Learn to love it, you can do most anything with it. The faster it spins the and the firmer the backing, the more accurately you can control the cut.
To remove the fins, you have 2 choices. Keep them and risk damaging the bottom lamination or grind them off and lose the fins but save the board.
If you want to keep the fins…put a new 50-36 grit disc on the grinder using a hard phenolic backup plate etc. Don’t use a PowerPad. Make sure it is very rigid with only a little flex. Make sure it installs perfectly circular. You can help cut it “true round” by rubbing and old disc against it till it cuts it truely round.
With the board flat on the racks, deck down, begin sanding in a ledge above the rope fillets. Press into the fin horizontally and a bit down till you can see the ledge develop and then continue to sand the ledge down and horizontally into the fin, until it almost hits the lamination. Do this on all 4 sides.
Now turn the board on the rails and do the same thing. Cutting a ledge into the fillet. Continue cutting this along the bottom till it hits the actual fin material.
Depending on how careful and precise you were, at this point you should have only a small amount of the fillet left around the base of the fins. Repeat the procedure until there is no fillet left.
All there should be is the footprint of the actual fin holding it on to the board. Sharply whack the fin sideways and knock them off. This will pull off a patch of the bottom lamination in the shape of the fin footprint. But since you are using the same fins again and only canting them a bit differently, they should fill this spot again when you tack them back on. If not when you tack it on later, do so with a dab of colored resin on the bottom of the fin to hide any white foam showing through.
Make sure you grind the fin patches off the bottom of the board, getting as close to the lamination as possible. Read the edges of the glass to determine how many layers and what weight of cloth were used so that you can tell when they are gone and the difference between them and the actual lamination. Do the same on the fins. Grind off all the glass lamination layers and any remaining fillet… Otherwise it will all be too thick and heavy.
If you want to preserve the boards color and bottom integrity you will have to grind/cut off the fins. This is particularily important if you are going to place the fins elsewhere on the bottom.
Put the board on its side in the racks and using a heavy angle on the grinding disk begin cutting into the fins about 1/2" above base. Cust as deep as you can from one side and then do the same from the other side. Keep grinding till they fall off. Don’t try to hurry this by whacking them!
Now you will have two nubs of the fins left on the bottom. Make sure your disc is sharp! Turn the board flat, deck down and grind each nub alternatively, keeping them from getting too hot. Grind till there is no visible remnant of the fins visible. This can be very. Getting so close to the lamination and not hitting requires skill. If you heat it too much it will puff up and not only can you hit it more easily. But the pressure in the foam cells will crack their shell and the foam will get all mushy and the fins won’t be as stiffly attached as before.
- is it neccessary to sand each side of the fin all the way down to original or can I just hit the bottom inch or so? The do a “baby” cloth patch on each side. Or get new fins and start from scratch?
In both cases of using the old fins or getting new ones, you need to grind away all the excess fin patches and fillet and grind out far enough to allow your new patches to not go on over any unsanded surfaces. Rarely can you grind a little, crack the fin loose a bit, retilt them, then put some baby patches to hopefully reglass it strong enough.
- where should I start when grinding/cutting/sanding the fin off - horizontally on the bottom (on the board surface) and go towards the fin or vertically down the side of the fin to the bottom of the board?
Hopefully I answered that above.
Good luck… and enjoy the itch!! Ha! Ha!
Thanks.
p.s. it’s not my board but I’d think this whole problem is not TOO bad considering that a fish a mainly used for speed and hard turns aren’t the norm?