i’m done the bottom. i used just a little less than 27 oz of resin.
18 at first, then when i realized that i wouldn’t be wetting my rails with that amount, i mixed another 6. i needed a little more to finish the rails and i thought i may need some extra for dry spots, so i mixed another 3oz. i think 27oz is what greg recommends for boards over 9’. only a drip line on the floor.
now some questions:
what am i looking for when i’m applying the resin? there is variation between shiny wet and spots where i can see the weave better than others. there appears to be no dry spots or bubbles. should i try to achieve a uniform “look” and eveness? or is this normal to have variation?
it didn’t seem to go super far like i’ve been told. the consistancy was easy to work with. what is the best way to ensure i’m getting enough resin to soak into the cloth?
My first lam, I did it in my computer room, I took the precaution of laying a sheet down on the floor, but then stepped in a pool of epoxy resin and managed to track it through the rest of the house. My wife was THRILLED!
need to know if you’re using epoxy and how long the board is. also, how many layers of what weigth cloth.
if you are using epoxy, read the resources here about epoxy tips and come back to read the rest of this. if you are doing the bottom of a shortboard, mix maybe 2 to 2.5 oz total per foot of length, dump it length wise on the board all at once. begin moving it to the edges. do not allow it to puddle, instead with firm hand on the squeegee, scrap it off the wet cloth to the outside. scrap too hard and move it too much and the resin will foam a little and the bubbles will make it cloudy. pulll the cloth tight as you squeegee. use a gloved hand behind the draped lap to work in the resin on the laps. DO NOT POUR A CURTAIN of expoy over the edge as shown in JC’s excellent PE glassing video. Take your sweet time. Wrap the rails. Then, as the pro’s do, go back with paper towel in the left hand and a clean sgueege in the right, and remove all excess resin to the point where you would swear that no sanding would be required. you’ll need about 10 minutes for this final step. a minute invested here saves several in sanding later. if you have more than a few drops on the floor, you are not worthy. keep practicing. I think the law says you can allow 10 small drops on the floor before you have to turn your self in to the authorities.
lightly sand the laps after cure and do the next lam. two layes of glass will need more resin per ft. read the epoxy tips post.
do all this and submit a full report back here by 0800 hours zulu. or first chance you get. but do report back.
or your glassing licence will be revoked. (don’t tell me you forgot to get a licence!)
I hope I am not kidding.
I’m kidding. but not about the report. the report is vital.
I’ve been following your Lamination threads but did not reply because I think you really have what it takes to make a great glass job. So many of your current questions will work themselves out as you go. A little extra here ,a little less there. There’s a first time for everything…
You are on the right track. I use cardboard on the floor for all my drips and screw ups. Any thing that cost me less than $1.00 goes in the trash after one use. Cleaning up resin sucks!
oops. forgot. what Ray said. have fun. and don’t get it on ya. (soap with pumice with get it off, especially that orange liquid stuff the name of which I can’t recall)
greg and stingray, thanks for your help and encouagement. for reference this is a 9’x22 1/2"x 3" polyurethane blank with epoxy resin. double 6 on top and 6 on the bottom.
last night i did the last/ top lamination, the bottom being done about 12 noon, all freelaps. i must say both went off without a hitch, cured in a few hours. the laps on the deck i sanded and surformed down. you can still feel a slight bump around the perimiter of the deck. not too noticable. last night i was real happy. i spent over an hour on the bottom, but about 45 min on the deck with twice the resin and cloth and it went real smooth. i found that if i really smoothed and formed the dry cloth to the contours of the board before i glassed it made it go on with no kinks. i used a hard plastic spreader on the deck, but a brush to wet the laps. to actually tuck the laps i like the spreader better than the brush. i had rollers too (the ones with the thin foam less than 1/16th thick), but i felt i had more sensitivity with the spreader. i had a drip line on the floor, but probably 4oz for the entire lam job. you can dock points for this if you wish…
two main questions:
i have some small air bubbles. fact of life? or “there shall be only none.”? they are about the diameter of a penny or less. i tried to work them out with my fingers, but it was too late in the lam. must i get rid of them now?
there is still the question of the lap on the bottom. how do i get it so you can’t see or feel it? before or after the hotcoat?
cheers! i’ll be reading the archives, but please enlighten me.
i have some small air bubbles. fact of life? or “there shall be only none.”? they are about the diameter of a penny or less. i tried to work them out with my fingers, but it was too late in the lam. must i get rid of them now? nicholas
You need to get rid of them. I treat them like small ding repairs. Its more work, but I actually cut out the offending lifted glass, mix a tiny bit of epoxy (medicine measuring dixie cups help with the smallest amounts) lay in a circle of cloth the size of the hole and then lay another slightly larger circle on top. Dab in just enough resin with a paintbrush - tips of the bristles, if you “paint” it your little piece of glass will pull all apart - enough to wet the cloth clear, but no more. Lay down a piece of clear plastic, and mash out any air bubbles with your fingers. Then a sandbag. I usually split one ziplock in half for the bubble-mashing layer and use another for the bag. Ziplock plastic is thick enough that you won’t get wrinkles, but thin enough that it will conform to your repair, even if its on a rail or wherever. It also doesn’t stick to epoxy at all. Some blanks just blow bubbles. I’ve done epoxy laminations where I ended up with a half dozen sandbags on the board before the hotcoat, and others where it doesn’t need any.
When that epoxy’s set (check your dixie cup, not the repair), pull the bag & plastic. Surform if you have to, but you probably won’t. And then hotcoat.
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there is still the question of the lap on the bottom. how do i get it so you can’t see or feel it? before or after the hotcoat?
Surform it pretty smooth. Your hotcoat will fill it and when you sand the hotcoat you’ll be taking off the rest of the bump. Even if you hit the weave a little when you’re sanding the hotcoat here, don’t worry - its a lap with more cloth underneath. This is why its good to do a few clear lams first, before you get into tints or volan
I agree with you on the squeegee for tucking laps. Quick & firm.
Sounds like your first board is going really well! I had the same problems with the bubbles on my rails, and my question is, I’ve heard that alot of the strength comes from the laps, and once I get rid of all the bubbles, my laps will have alot of area where they are cut through along the rail. How can I keep this from seriously weakening the board, and also, is there a way to just put some glass on the rails? I’m thinking that if I don’t reinforce the lap from the bottom to the top and only fix the bubbles and then do the top fiberglassing/laps, that it won’t be strong.
i’m not sure if i was supposed to, but i’ve surformed and sand the lap until fairly smooth. maybe i’m too used to working with wood and finishing furniture. do i need to sand my lam coat before i apply the hotcoat (epoxy)? i thought it best to level out some high spots first. am i worried about sanding scratches? i went to 60 grit.
