How’d you get the lap to powder up like that, cheater coat first? Also looks like you blocked it with 80?
I like the red. I did one for myself, once. It came out a beautiful splotchy pink but then again it was epoxy.
I have 2 boards to finish. One just needs a bottom hotcoat. The other still needs the bottom lamination lap sanded on the deck. I’ll see if I can use a cleaner finer grit and not fray the glass.
I’ll try to take some good pictures. They tell the story so much better.
I would agree with Yorky and Huie about the optimal bright lam resins. Silmar is making one now and a couple of guys I know in the Northwest have used it and don't like it. Shows everything. Keep in mind that six ounce always shows anyway. Even "E". Someone with a critical eye can see even the best free laps, especially over dark colors. One thing to remember is that you are free lapping the rails, not the deck or bottom, Free laps that go way up onto the deck or bottom always show on a dark colored blank. Remember two or maybe three fingers at most. That will put the lap on the bottom or top edge of the rail where it will be less noticeable. A pair of electric scissors makes for string and wravel free laps.
Oh! and drop your gummed up discs in a bucket of acetone until the residue is soft and then wire brush them. You get more life out of 'em that way.
How about a close up of those laps after you've glossed?
Mahalo! I just ordered some 60 grit rolocs in the zirconium. I’m going to take all the tips and advice and see if it takes care of the problem.
I’m betting its the the discs ripping the cloth ends. I won’t be getting the 60 grits in time for the next lap prep. So I’m going to take down the 36 to something closer to 60 and no more lap grinding with gummed up paper.
I’m going to really try and take some pictures. Its just one of the those things that you have to hold the board in just the right light for it to stand out, but when it does it really doesn’t look right.
I think you've got it. No gummed up discs. Minimal grinding and a tight lap on the lam. I'll pay you acomplment and say that you have a good eye. An eye for "perfection". Keeping working at it. You are getting there.
Thanks for the compliment. I don’t think perfect truely exits. I’ll take the illusion of perfect, but this problem is pretty obvious. It just eats at me when you think you’ve done all the steps correctly then some little detail throws a monkey wrench into the works.
I’m not quite charging full price yet and I want to make sure people are happy. Cosmetics for some guys is a really big deal.
You know how it is one guy is like do whatever, I don’t care, its all good. Then there’s that guy that takes a microscope to the board and complains. Word of mouth around here can make or break you.
It really is a journey that can have almost no end in attempting to master the different aspects of surfboard building. Clean efficient shape, good solid glass job, clean sand job, etc. No dinged foam, no smudges from dirt bugs or hair, no air bubbles or dry spots, no sand throughs, etc.
So for now no weird things under the glass and hopefully some good pictures. Oh and “is my board done yet?”
…I checked, but I don t have a close up picture because after the hot coat or gloss…never thought that a shot like that would be important…
I have a picture of the bottom finished but a normal distance, so I tried to find another Red or even worst like deep Violet but I do not have any showing the board finished in such close distance.
I use Aerialite and I do not have any problems with the laps showing anything; if some is showed the problem is with the technique as some of you say about the gummy paper, etc
-DMP, I do not exactly what you say about dust; that s the hot coated deck and lap to the bottom, so if you sand it you ll have with dust
Got to ask about the dust. Pretty hard to impossible to make a fine dust like that with just lam resin. I couldn’t tell that it was hotcoated.
electric scissors, mmmm, been thinking about getting something like this, im now trying to fix a real old pair of metal sewing scissors, resharping the edges for cutting and retighting the nut and bult at the join. Ive found the scissors I used were just not good enough, it really made my laps a bit messy. Im enjoying this thread for sure, some great hints, and hey, whatever huei mentioned to you treat like gold mate, he knows his stuff.
di99er------- The best inexspensive ones are the red Black and Decker. They work great. Been using electric scissors for years. I have bought several pair of the B&D off Ebay all for under $25 US dollars. I still use a good pair of scissors though to cut the tabs at the nose and tail.
Aerialite is probably the best cloth for freelaps. It comes the closet to disappearing when using 6 oz. Maybe not as strong as Hexcel or JPS but cosmetically they rule. IMO
jim i might be wrong but i think d m p is talking about using u v resin if that is the case the old styrene trick dont work
f##king uv resin whith its optic brightner are the shit for good cosmetics. stupid industry keeps going backwards
cheers huie
I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. I will just say that thru the 90's and first half of the 2000's I did "bucoue" free laps mostly in UV. Mostly with Aerialite, before I decided a shaping room was cheaper to rent than a full blown shop,. Catalyzed when necessary. Never used anything "gummy". Always a green 3M Roloc disk that was either new or washed and wire brushed in acetone. A low free lap is hard to see. But even on a clear I guarantee you I can see a 6 oz. free lap done by anybody. They never go completly away but can be hid even on the darkest of paint jobs. Bring that lap way up on the deck or low on the bottom and it will be obvious. PS-----Jim ----Reread your post and understand what you are saying now. They just didn't take the time to do it right. Got ya. On high priced boards like those Tudors as well. Yeah I never touch a lap with anything gummy and it can always be cleaned up before the hotcoat and gloss if a guy will take the time to do it. Don't need to know the name of the glass shop, because I know who.
McDing, when we were doing a lot of the dark colored Tudor’s, the buzzed free lap on the bottoms were showing terribly, the rarely cleaned in acetone completely discs, were leaving a melted stripe of lam resin, something that with a little styrene or razor blading, the affected area would have been solved.
No don’t have time to do it right, but plenty of time to do it over !
Ghettorat told me…
Got e-scissors, and they are just soooo great.
But do keep clean and sharp hand-scissors for when your battery dies in the middle of cutting you glass though
i own that black and decker too, at 25 dollars it is ultra cheap.
i love the e-scissors especially for cutting out round patches etc. they carve well
cheers!
Won’t stop raining. Maybe in a few days I can finish the last two and get them sanded to the point I can take pictures. I checked the one out that is hotcoated on the deck and I can’t see any weird spots. The other one is only lammed.
Yes the resin is UV and yes it is blue tinted.
ahhh’’ bingo
optic brightner and cosmetics dont dance in the same hall?
will pm you some thoughts
cheers huie
resign blue tinted, please explain guys as im soon to buy some new resign. Dont want to get that stuff by the sounds of it Huei
Huie will set you right on what to buy down there. I don't know what guys are buying Down Under. Up here we are using Silmar 249 lam resin. It has a green look to it. Don't remember the #'s but Silmar also makes an Optical Bright resin that has a blue cast to it. Goes off "water white" clear which makes it much easier to see free laps.