Hi,
I have been thinking about this some, and maybe I have a few useful suggestions. Was gonna answer last night but…stuff happens, y’know?
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First, I plan on cutting out all loose/jagged edges…make the edges clean and squear. Then I will cut and shap a peice of foam to fit the empty spot ( should I leave some room to shap later or should I shape the foam to exact demensions right off the bat?). Then, I will use laminating resin to coat the egdes of the board and the peice of filler foam. I will use straps or ‘tie downs’ to secure the foam in place, adding some extra resin to the edges where the foam meets the board. Once dry…I will start the glassing process.
Especially as you haven’t got access to foam, what I’d do is this;put that saw away immediately. Now. Don’t saw, cut, bend, fold, spindle or mutilate. Bad idea. Sorry about that, but if you can avoid cutting then don’t cut. The other thing is that the irregular edge will be less noticeable than a squared off cut when you’re done.
Instead, go to a local marina and get some two-part foam. Make an oversized mold (with the top open, don’t make a closed mold) of masking tape and cardboard, line it with wax paper and attach it to the deck side, mix some of the foam up and pour it in. If they haven’t got it, look elsewhere. If you can’t find any ( and they will likely have it at West Marine ) then you can try some of the spray insulation foam from the builder’s supply, but I’d use that as the last resort, it tends to be a kind of light yellow-tan in color and the board isn’t all that brown yet so it will show. They make two kinds of spray foam, one expands less than the other and that’d be the kind to use.
It’s not only a helluva lot easier, it turns out what I think is a better job. Take off the mold carefully, shape it to match the other side with surform and sandpaper. Sand well onto the old glass to rough up the surface, maybe 3 inches or so. That takes care of step 1.
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I will use one layer of 4oz glass on the bottom. (should I cutout some old glass so I can sand even in the futuer or should I just sand about an inche back on the good board before I lay the glass? How much should I over lap?) Also, I have trouble understanding the differences between resins…and when to use what. I guess I would use a sanding resin when coating the glass…but what kind…is that what it is called when I’m looking for it in the store?
Don’t cut anything. Put that saw in the cellar. When in doubt, don’t cut. Or rout, or slice. Really. I mean it.
If you want to try for a color match, then hit the local art supply store for some watercolor markers. You can probably come fairly close on color and you won’t do a whole lot better with anything else. Use masking tape to define where you want to put the color and have at it, right on the foam.
Okay, having done that it’s glassing time. Your local Ace Hardware doesn’t have surfboard-quality resins. But your friendly neighborhood surf shop does, as do a number of mail order suppliers. For that matter, Bunger is down your way and they definitely have it. Don’t get sun cure resins, get the other kind that needs catalyst. Get laminating resin and sanding resin, maybe a pint of each. Get six ounce cloth, not 4.
Now, the best demo of glassing technique I can point you to is what Hicksy shows on the video that you can see in another thread. Unless you’re experienced with a squeegee, use a brush like he shows, it’s much, much easier for your first job. The throwaway bristle ‘chip’ brushes the hardware store has are perfect for this. Don’t use a nylon brush, the resin will mess it up.
For this, rather than doing top and bottom as you would on a new board, I might wrap one piece around the rails, make a cut at the corner so it’ll wrap right and then put the resin to it with a brush. Then maybe a second layer, wider/more overlap. You’ll want maybe 3" of lap onto the old glass.
By the way, you can get away with just sanding resin, just you want to put the second layer on when the first layer is still a bit tacky.
Having done that and let it dry, sand the edges, mask around it and brush on sanding resin. That’s a combined hotcoat and gloss. When the resin starts to gel, pull off the tape, wet sand if need be when it’s hardened, polish if need be and there you go.
hope that’s of use
doc…
