Damnit, I know this subject has been covered before, but I just can’t find the “definitive” thread on doing resin pins with epoxy…
So, lets hear all your tips for good results!
What kind of tape, what kind of surface prep, what kind of brush, when to pull tape, etc, etc… Cheater coat of clear after tape goes town, before colored resin applied?
I usually use pinstriping tape from finesse pinstriping for my acrylic pinlines, and I don’t see why it wouldn’t work… It’s plastic instead of paper masking.
I guess the biggest thing is how to get a good even line, and when to pull it…
1/4" or 1/8" Scotch 233+. The adhesive in the 233+ is immune to epoxy & vice-versa. I’d probably lay down 3 pieces & pull the middle. Bead in your resin and then go over it with a heat gun to get it to speed up. Make a stripe on your workbench too and every time you make a pass over the board, make a pass over the test on the bench - when it’s gelled, its safe to pull the tape on your board, too.
When you’re sticking down your tape, make sure to go over the edges with a popsicle stick. That was a tip from Kokua for hotcoat taping-off, but I’ve found its also perfect for taping over finboxes, taping pinlines, etc…
BTW, Shwuz, the 233+ is such good stuff, it recently solved a problem we’ve all had with our balsas for me. I used it - no blue tape - to tape all the seams on a balsa skin for bagging on to a blank. I sealed the blank with spackle - never bothered to do that under a skin before, either, usually just wet-out the cloth on top of the balsa instead of the foam - and laid the glass on the sealed blank. I had my balsa skin, tape on what would eventually be the outside, ready to go. Optimistically, I mixed a small batch of resin…and didn’t even need it all! To wet out a layer of 4 oz E on a 10’2 board, I used less than 8 oz of resin + 2 oz of hardener…less than 1 oz per foot! I slapped the skin on, tape out, and slid it into the bag. Pulled vac…
Next morning, out of the bag, all the tape just peeled right off. No sanding, not even any picking at it. But at the same time, it held the balsa well enough that I didn’t get any joint separations, even around the curved areas. I know I got good resin penetration, because I have those tell-tale spots all over the balsa…
If you want to feel the "bump"on an acrylic pin just leave the tape on.After it dries shoot a coat of clear gloss or hotcoat resin over it and pull the tape.A good way to cheat.Thanks to Jim Phillips for that little trick.
On the tape, here’s my little secret. I go through so much of it during the process of skinning a balsa, the thought of using that $$$ 233 for the whole thing makes my stomach turn. I do use in on mission-critical areas like taping off hotcoats and cutlaps and stuff, but for laying up my skins, holding them on the blanks, holding the rails together, all the stuff that requires bagging the board (and the tape!), and the risks of terminal stickkage… I use this 1.5" masking tape I get for like $10 for a bundle of 6 at Sam’s Club. Bought it on a whim one time, and I love the stuff. I’ve used it successfully for just about everything!
Used blue tape one time and threw away the rest of the roll, terrible stuff.
But yeah, I would use the green stuff all over the whole thing if I felt like spending that kind of “green stuff” for disposables.
whats with you guys and the “bump”? I’ve always hated that bump back in the 60’s I used to double gloss my personel boards to get rid of it. A bump just says to me " lousy pinline ,crappy glosser, lazy rubout guy." Shwuz if you want a bump over a nice flat acrylic pin just go over it with clear sanding resin. I know one shop that was pawning off that technique as genuine resin pins . How many strokes are you up to with the dagger brush?
I know the shop. I used to work there. That all happened because the Japanese customers we dealt with insisted on it because they thought is was more authentic on these retro longboards they order. They complicated the matter by insisting that we match these Japanese color swatches which was real tricky to do using pigment dispersion.
Now the Japanese are good customers that love all the trick stuff we US builders do but, sometimes their imagination as far as what they order will puzzle you. I remember one time they ordered a 5 redwood stringered blank with wood nose and tail blocks and had it glassed white opaque.
I think that is just part of Japanese culture, they like the fancy stuff, but they want it to be normal looking. Look at the difference between Japanese tuners (real, not Tokyo Drift) and American, The Japanese will put full carbon body panels etc, and then paint it to look stock. Americans will get just the carbon hood and spoiler and sport that carbon like they’re hot. If they want you to know what they have, they will tell you, but otherwise they don’t want to draw attention. Ever watch the show Initial D (Japanese racing anime)? The main character drives an 85 Toyota Sprinter Trueno (Otherwise known as a two door 85 corolla), which has 1 vinyl and an upgraded motor. Plain white, plain pop up headlights. Driver skill is showcased, not the cars. They probably want people to notice thier boarding talent, not thier boards.
