fabric inlay fins!

How do YOU folks do YOUR fabric inlaid fins?! What do you guys do to keep them the most visually uniform and neat?! Got any handy prep tips, amigos?! Any help, as always, is MOST appreciated! Aloha, nui…T.

How do YOU folks do YOUR fabric inlaid fins?! What do you guys do to keep > them the most visually uniform and neat?! Got any handy prep tips, > amigos?! Any help, as always, is MOST appreciated! Aloha, nui…T… …Alot of great archives on this subject,check it out ,bra,Herb.

Herb!..checked the archives, but came up with NADA!..I was refering to fabric Inlays in FINS (specifically)…not board surfaces {which I HAVE done, regularly}). Tom@daum/Jim P./Tom Sterne (and the rest of you techs)…chime in anytime! P.S…Herb…I think there’s trouble with the server on your end…a couple of your responses didn’t register. Mahalo, T.

Herb!..checked the archives, but came up with NADA!..I was refering to > fabric Inlays in FINS (specifically)…not board surfaces {which I HAVE > done, regularly}). Tom@daum/Jim P./Tom Sterne (and the rest of you > techs)…chime in anytime! P.S…Herb…I think there’s trouble with the > server on your end…a couple of your responses didn’t register. Mahalo, > T. Tom, All of our hand laminated fins are made by True Aimes & Fibreglas Fin Co. So, Larry Allison or Chuck would probably be a better source than an injection molder. However, prior to managing a plastic injection molding company, I ran a boat yard. We did some repairs that required a fabric inlay beneath the fiberglass top skin. For that application we would wet out the surface of the substrate ( in this application a fin that is a singloe 4 ounce layer away from finished). Layout the fabric by unrolling it from one edge to the other length wise, orient any irregularities, allow it to tack and apply a final layer of wetted out 4 ounce over the bonded fabric. I don’t know if this is the best production method for laminated fins. But, it worked well on yacht restorations.

Sorry Tom v.,I mis-read your post.Herb.

Sorry Tom v.,I mis-read your post.Herb. …finish the fin to a fine sandout,then put the fabric on one or both sides of the fin re-glass/lam,re-sand,etc.watch your final sandout!!!Herb.

Thanks, guys!..'preciate it! I had heard something to the effect of putting the fabric halfway into the finsheet, then finishing laminations. what I saw was a perfectly cut planshape, but the edges (approx. 1/8th around) were completely clear. (sharp, yeah?!). I think I might have answered my own question…I think that these folks did half a finsheet, laid down a series of maticulously cut florals…then finished the sheet… carefully cut and foiled. The fabric on the fin’s surface seems a good cosmetic alternative…will also give that a try, Herb, and will let you folks know how I made out in either case. Thanks, also, for the info lead, Tom “@ daum” ! Mahalo, both! T. (p.s…the more I think about it, the floral fabric could well have been a print on rice paper! {no frays, right?!})