Have checked the archives for info but want to make sure i understand!!!Have just used laminating resin on bottom of board and are ready to attack the top.
The lap is neat but needs small sanding.Can i paint a little filler coat on lap and sand?then lay top cloth down?is filler coat ok slightly on the foam without resin if this makes sense or should i paint thinly on the edges of the lap with poly resin then let dry, then paint along lap with filler then sand.will the lap show less if i do this?
Some guys baste the laps to help fill the step where the lap ends. I've used a file or 3" coarse twist-lok disc to knock down goobers. Don't nick the foam. Poly laminating resin doesn't cure tack free like epoxy so make sure tools or discs are clean. Expect a bit of gumming up and maybe have some acetone and clean rag to remove any smudges. I keep a wire brush handy to get the built up resin off the file or disc.
You used polyester resin? For god sakes, why? Apart from that you want to get some resin about an inch past the lap edge onto the foam. This “extra” resin protects the foam from being sanded into. Taping inside the lap edge by about an inch doesn’t hurt either at this stage of the game, just don’t forget to pull the tape before the resin cures.
Once you’ve laid your tape brush on some ordinary laminating resin over the area in bewtween the tape and lap edge and then run a squeegee over the same area once you have finished brushing.
Squeegeeing after brushing ensures that the resin lays down smooth and you won’t have big lumps of resin sitting on the foam after the resin cures.
the correct method is to cut laps. they look a lot better. i can get a board off the shelf in a shop and look at the laps and you can see the uneveness in certain light and angles. i think it looks sloppy personaly. also it takes a few tapeups and cuts to get a nice lap so the practice gets you ready for colour work so it doesnt look like a dogs breakfast. cut laps require neither basting or sanding and have a lower risk of damaging the foam. to be a good all round board builder in the different mediums then cutlaps are important to learn
I’m with silly on this, I cutlap everything. Hated trying to get a messy freelap sanded even, with a cutlap at least all the highpoints are in a straight (curved) line. Just a whole lot easier to get it all even.
Hey Jarrod, I’m just wondering… when you do cutlaps on wood, how do you avoid getting a line showing. If you do balsa rails and you want your lap to go over the rail wood join aren’t you going to get a cutline. Or even with color. Say you do a color bottom and then you do the deck. If you cut lap won’t the cut line show on the color?
ps insane travel board you made. My hats off to you bro.
Yes - it's mainly a matter of timing and preference. When I use epoxy it's often using the 'lam-fill-no flip' method which makes cutlaps very difficult. By the time the fill coat goes off, the lam is pretty solid to cut with a razor blade. I suppose that by using a slow hardener in the lam and fast hardener or accelerator in the fill that the timing might work out OK. I generally just freelap and grind the lap area on both sides before laminating and filling the other side.
Howzit wouter, By all means even a cut lap has an edge that needs to be taken down. We used to us a surform blade and the trick was to use only 1 or 2 of the little hole blades at the corner of the surform . That was on the mainland where surforms don't rust in a couple of days. Here on Kauai I use 50 or 60 grit paper no matter if it's a cut lap or a free lap. Aloha,Kokua
I've commented exstensively too many times in too many threads like this on the very same topic. I think the last time was about two months ago. There is a right way to do free laps and you can walk in any good glass shop in Calif. or Hawaii and see that method being employed. Though cutlaps have their place; You are not a "good all around board builder" if you can't do a decent freelap. It is tiring to see the wheel reinvented so many times. There is a fast ,clean and simple way to do a free lap. Search the archives.
Re: gassing out issues.... Assuming you do the second lamination in falling temperatures, no problem. If temperature control is lacking, cutting out a finbox slot or at least drilling a hole where the box will go isn't a bad idea. I've read other ways to address the gassing problem including pre-lam hotbox treatment of the blank to set things up for contraction rather than expansion as the lam cures. As far as I know the lam-fill-no flip method shouldn't affect the gassing out thing.
