fin plug holes routed to big, fix?

General Discussion
1

Hi, frist time trying to put fin plugs in and made the holes to big, theres a good 3 to 4 mm gap alway around fin solution plugs. Wot should i do? will it be okay or wot about puting a fin patch over all the tail area and getting a layer of glass over plug holes then recut plug holes to a correct size. the hole in the foam will still be big but at least there will be a layer of glass there .Help.

2

I would underscore the glass around the holes about  a MM then set the plugs normally with a fake fin using a mix of reisin and carbosil or ground fiberglass. If you want to be sure put a four ounce pacth over the plug once you grind it down.

3

 

Make the H pattern down to the deck.  Mix a little epoxy and fill only the H pattern portion.  Wait till tomorrow, and the epoxy has cured.

Take 2 oz cloth, cut a round circles, about 1 1/2 " diameter.  Lay the cloth over the hole, and push a plug in dry.  If the cloth is cut to the right size, it will end up flush with the surface, or really close.

Take out the plug, but leave in the 2 oz cloth.  Pour a little epoxy into the hole, not enough so thet when the plug is inserted it rises to the surface, but just enough to fill the void under the plug. Use the slower cure stuff because you will need the time.  Set your plugs, and tape to hold as normal.  Wait till it cures.

Come back the next day, and fill the rest of the hole with epoxy.

It will take some time, but you will end up with a fiberglass cloth filled pocket surrounding the fin plug.

Fiberglass Hawaii makes a three minute epoxy that doesn’t exotherm.  You can do the first fill with that, and it will save you a day.  Do the other two pours with slower cure, because

  1. You will need the time to adjust the fins.
  2. Slow cure is thinner than fast cure, and will soak into the dry cloth easier.  That is for Fiberglass Hawaii epoxy, which is what I use.
I use a similar trick when setting leash plugs.  Line the hole with 2 oz cloth, but with leash plugs, you don't have the H pattern, so less heat issues, and you dont have to worry about setting cant angles, so it is just cloth and pop it in.  No more bubbles, and it makes a stronger, more watertight plug.
4

Smack the tail of the board as hard as you can with a 10 pound hammer. About 12 inches from the tail. Then treat it as a repair.......

 

5

Or check out this thread....Kensurf and DMP seem to know what they are talking about.....

http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/fin-plug-holes-routed-to-big-fix

6

Everysurfer has given you great advice there. If you tried to fill it with regular mix of epoxy in one shot you would melt the foam. The only other alternative would be to mix up a batch of epoxy with q cell fill it, sand it, lay newfin patches over it and start again cutting correct sized holes this time. However,I would go with everysufers advice especially if you can get the resin he mentions…would save you loads of time…
Cheers
Rich
Www.thirdshade.com

7

.....you did not read the link.....

let's see...3mm.....If I was off by 3mm...I would just close my eyes and keep my mouth shut...and no one would know but me............Or we can have fun with the Hammer!

Heck...I might even fix it with color and make you guys think it was planned to look that way......ha ha! Let's not stress out over a small error...............

8

Or if you need to redrill hole. fill hole with epoxy and microballon mix...fill hole, put bag-o-ice over, and under hole. Ice will slow down early therming process and allow for epoxy to thicken up. Once thicken'd up pull bags and let epoxy go hard.

 

Then re route holes set fins...Surf. The bring back and hit with Hammer to reset fins you put in wrong place to start with.

9

thanks mate , only a fellow pom as they call us over here in oz , kept it sensible.