Filler-Questions for placing FCS plugs!

@ wouter,

Yes i am dutch, but not from Scheveningen. I am from Zaandam. I do study at the Haagse Hogeschool, so i could drop by to see how you work.

all preparations for the pour has been made. the holes are drilled (an H-pattern) and i have those stickers that you put around the holes to prevent the epoxy from dripping all over the board. all i have to do is pour the epoxy. What kind of tinted resin do you mean? can i buy it in small portions? since i will only use it once for this board and it would be a waste to buy 1 liter of the stuff for example. or maybe if you have some left, i can buy it of you?

oh and for more pictures:

wouter is talking about buying a little pigment and adding it to the batch of resin that will be used to install the plugs. the first time i did this it was all strange to me because i felt more like i was doing a chemistry experiment than mixing up a batch of resin since i was adding so many extra things to the resin. the white color added into the pigment looks good because it reduces the shadow that the h pattern hole makes on the deck and it makes the fin plugs look alot cleaner on the bottom. i agree it is worth it on such a good looking board, but be careful not to add too much because it weakens the resin (although not as much as filler)... pigment can be bought in quantities as low as an ounce in hobby stores and craft stores (at least from what i have seen in america) and its pretty cheap. no more than a couple american dollars. it is definitely worth a try in my opinion

this pigment you are talking about… is that a powder that i have to mix? or is it liquid? i have found some sort of pigmentpasta that can be used for epoxy. it sais on the site to add around 5-10% to color it. is this the same kind of pasta you are familiar with? i added a picture just in case…

Yes it is. Those are the right pigmented pastes. Mix about a small nut in your resin batch, that’s more than enough for plugs.

cool thanks! im off to the stores right now!

oh and one final question! is it correct to mix the pigment with the epoxy first… and AFTER it is mixed, add the hardener?

For plugs or boxes, measure the resin and hardener first, then add your additives so you get the right ratios. CRITICAL with small volumes.

always mix hardener then epoxy then additive f and finally pigment. ratios are SUPER important on fin plugs because you are mixing up a small batch of resin and it is really easy to mess up the ratios when you have to be that precise and you may get a bad batch. use a scale if youve got one, otherwise, if you have some extra epoxy, mix up a bigger batch so your margin for error is a little bit bigger. dont worry about throwing away a little epoxy, it will save you alot of time and effort.  i cant stress enough with the fin plugs that ratios have to be exact and always add the epoxy to the hardener and stir for close to 5 minutes

In regards to adding pigment to the epoxy:

Too much opaque white and black pigments tend to interfere with epoxy hardening and strength. Overly pigmented resin will be rubbery and your plugs and fins will roll over on your first bottom turn. Happened to me once, that how you learn without Swaylocks :)

Not sure why opaque pigments weaken epoxy, maybe the pigments get in the way of full cross-linking... Happens to some injection molded plastics when too much color is added as well.

Like NJSurfer stated above, only add a pea sized dab of pigment (if that much).

~Brian

www.greenlightsurfsupply.com