EEK! I just laminated my first board. The bottom of the board went ok except for the laps, they were messy, and strings hanging at a bunch of spots, big huge 1/2 inch build up at the nose. After that dried I went out and sanded the laps a bit, and the build up. Some of the foam was being sanded off at certain spots, and I couldnt get to alot of the lumps. SO then I did the top, those lumps were making the new cloth stick up, leaving it not flat against the deck. The rails werent doing good either… again. It started to gel and I couldnt get it to a point where it was totaly smooth, but I got the lap flat. I was wondering if there is any way I can fix the lumps and after the rails dry how can I get them flat? Your answers would be great! Thanks.
use a sanding block and bring them down flat. If you sand through the glass, just patch it, like a ding repair. Don’t be discouraged, the first one is the hardest, and what you describe sounds like most everyone’s first lam job… try to learn from your mistakes and your second one will be better.
Sounds similar to what I experienced when laming my first board.
All those strands coming off… a nightmare.
I also found wetting out the laps was hard to do.
Next time I’ll try to do cut laps, to me it seems to be easier to handle all those strands and perhaps also easier to cut away all those lumps and strands sticking up.
Well good luck on Your next one
/Erik
Been there, done that. Just like keith said, threat each screw-up as a ding repair. I’ve done that a plenty. Don’t give up on it as it does get easier.
You can baste you laps to help avoid hitting the foam when sanding down the bumps. I always keep a $1 schissor at hand when laminating to cut those loose strands and to cut another wedge into the laps if I can’t get it to lay down flat. There is a video in the archive about how to properly wet the laps, but I wet the laps by lifting the laps up with my hand then move the resin with the squeegee onto it, let it soak a little, then squeegee it back onto the board and move excess to next section of lap and repeat. Works for me and I use very little resin this way(epoxy). Also, consider using epoxy or UV resin so you get more time to do the laps and you don’t have to worry about the thing geling while you’re half done.
Don’t give up, best of luck.
regards,
Håvard
Hi EEK!
If you look in the archives type "glassing tips "in the search window there is some great advise on lap wetouts three different ways
I have just glassed another board and changed my method as the threads suggest and have just had the most problem free laps ive ever done
Man its good to hear about other ways of doing things , thanks Swaylock’s
regards Mike
same thing happened to me on my first board…even worse…I kicked too hot the resin so I did not have time to do the laps at all…It was a mess…I had to cut and sand the laps and then glass the deck but this time with a 25 minute geltime resin mixture …at the end everything turned ok…
Remember that learning to build surfboards is a process of trial and error… lots of errors… but what the heck thats part of it… just learn from the mistakes and enjoy it…
Cabeto
Does anyone have close up pics of what the laps are supposed to look like before the deck lam goes on. How flat does it need to be? How much sanding needs to be done.
next time us UV cured laminating resin. the resin will not gel until touched ny UV light. working time is more or less unlimited
Drew
K thanks guys, that’ll help alot
When you trim the cloth it helps if you use a pair of long sharp scissors. Keep a crappy pair handy while laminating to cut those hangers before squeegeeing the overlap. Try masking and do cutlaps - it generally turns out cleaner.
I agree with the others…SUNCURE rules
I disagree!
Laminating skill is the most necessary ingrediant to good glass jobs.
That includes mixing catalyst to set in 40 minutes, enough time for ANY of you to finish everything.
I’ve seen glassers finish in right around 7 minutes, a well squeegeed, perfectly flush laid up lam either top or bottom.
You can use whatever you want to glass, but SKILL is still the main missing ingrediant.
You acquire skill with practice…and some amount of concentration.
Ralph Ehni, one of our glassers, could finish a lam in about 12 minutes, telling jokes, putting on a show, entertaining 5 spectators, all the while having a generally good time, relaxed and energetic. That includes 7 color psychomodelics, flame jobs, blue waves, whatever.
Can someone explain the cut technique to me please?
Yes skill matters but you seem to be referring to speed not skill.
I make 3 or 4 boards per year and Im sure there are others on this site who are also limited in practice time. My glassing is skillful but not fast. My preference for Suncure is that it allows the occasional builder, like me and also the original poster of this thread, time to do a quality job. There is also less anxiety using Suncure…no pressure to get everything right in x-minutes.
Therefore I believe that an entry level glasser is much better off using Suncure.
Skill and speed of laminating is tied together.
Why would anyone want to take more time than necessary? We’re talking well squeegeed lam jobs with NO pinbubbles, everything up, looking perfect here. No wet spots, no dry spots, freelaps all up and flat, cut laps pressed close to the tape and everything evenly saturated.
You KNOW what to do, the steps only take about 10 minutes TOTAL.
Splotch a football sized goop of resin in the center, taking 4" bites, squeegee out in all directions. In two minutes, the whole surface is saturated. I’d bet on half that.
Pour a 1/2" wide bead just inside the rail line, fold up the laps, pour another 1/2" bead on the flipped up rail, followed closely by a medium pressured squeegee stroke. Takes about 2 minutes total.
Flip rail down, might take 1.5 minutes.
Flip saturated rail up all around, really quick.
Pour another spotch of resin center of surface, now 5" diameter. Taking 2" bites, squeegee outwards, everything is saturated.
Squeegee over the rails, pushing resin into the laps and pushing laps up.
Most guys lam 5 boards at a time, normal 35 minute kick time, and have time to go over everything one more time.
Don’t pet your dog, answer the cellphone, argue with girlfriend, or smoke the MJ till AFTER you are finished.
Takes about twice as long to lam a board as it takes for me to type this badly.
Lee, youre hired bro…my next lam job is yours.
BTW, I know a pro builder (20 years) that does what you describe and he still uses suncure…he says it speeds up the overall building process because it dries quicker between each step.
Personally, Suncure is easier to use…I just dont see any pitfalls in using the stuff…you can use it just as you describe above…the only diff is the way each method dryes. It also emitts less VOCs into the atmosphere because it cures quicker.
I see your point but Im sticking with suncure…thanks for the lam tips.
Howzit LeeDD, 12 minutes sounds just right for a lam job. If the resin batch is to cold most of the resin will drain into the foam before it kicks and that is not what you want. I've been using UV resin for a few years now but I still glass like i'm using catalyst so as to keep my edge. One of the best aspects of UV resin is before you put it in the sun or under lights you can do a walk around to make sure there's no air in the lamination. Aloha, kokua