this weekend i started the lamination of my first surfboard (pu blank, 6oz layers, sicomin 'surf clear' epoxy). while the bottom lam was not a problem at all the top lam turned out rather ugly. there are many 'air bubbles' and dry areas.
could someone advise me with a step by step process to improve/rescue my first board? any advises that my 2nd+ board will look better are much appreciated.
thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge. i am a quite frustrated with the result now. but i guess this is a process every beginner has to go trough in its learning curve ;)
don't sweat the very deep,little bubbles or smaller stuff.
get a old sureform blade or 36 grit sanding block(like foam ez's new maxie pad).
and rough up the wrinkles and larger surface bubbles.
then just add some thinned out resin over the top,and squeege it in the void.,(if done correctly,it should make the bubble/wrinkle vanish.) you can always add glass patches or top filler .
to get to the deeeeeper stuff:
a syringe with a basting needle will do the job.
tap a hole first then inject the glue into the effected area.
keep this in mind:
it's the deckside.............you're goin' too wax it anyway.
it's much better ,in my opinion,that the deck get's screwed than the bottom side.
Second board. Take your time!!! Perhaps use a slower curing epoxy so you have more working time to fix things before it kicks. How did this mess happen??? Flood the cloth with resin then pull the excess out with the squeegie and work your way from the center of the board out to the rails and from the center to the nose and tail.
I remember the first board I glassed 20 years ago and how I felt panicked and rushed once I catylized the resin. The beauty of today's epoxies and uv cure resins is that the beginner has a lot more control over the set time of the resin. Take your time, don't panic and always work methodically.