As I tucked under the lap last night I experienced a problem with strands of glass pulling off. Actually the ones that pull all the way off arent the problem, its the ones that just come loose on one end. The lap on the bottom had a ton, I did a much better job the second time on the top, but still had some. What do I do, either to keep these from starting, or to get rid of them? Also, do you laminate the top as soon as the resin is dry enough to flip the board? or wait? My lap was so bad from the bottom, that I waited until it dried so I could sand it away, which I’m sure you all know doesn’t work very well. It seems if I can get a decent lap then I can throw the wet deck lam on top and it smooths itself out. Just looking for some pointers. Although it was tedious, it looks like I should have a functioning first board …maybe not the prettiest thing in the water. Cheers,
Usually after posting this advice the pros mercifully leave me alone. Pros seem not to have this problem. I’d like to hear why. I’m an amateur also. I learned about edge strings the same way you did. I glassed over them without sanding. It ended up a lumpy mess. So I sanded the deck glass flat… all the way through to the hull strings. WRONG! I learned. Now I glass only cut laps. When glassing the bottom I cut the inside glass layer first. When I lay out subsequent layers, I cut them a proportional distance from the tape line. This schedule covers glass layers with successively larger glass layers. This way the edge of only one layer is exposed. Only one edge sheds strings when I squeegee the rails. When I mask the cut line I also mask garbage bag plastic over the deck foam. When I lam the rails, if long strings unravel I cut them off with scissors. When shorter strings unravel I squeegee them onto the deck mask. This saves critical laminating time. After the hull lam hardens a bit, I cut it around the tape line, and remove the deck mask. I bevel the hull glass edge, and clean up the edge foam. Then I fill the edge with lightweight spackle. When the spackle dries I sand the edge smooth. Then I’m ready to glass the deck over a smooth, clean surface. I think this method is lighter and stronger than filling between deck lumps with sanding resin. Commercially, I would consider buying only tinted boards just to ensure that the deck is made mostly of glass, instead of resin. To look right, tinted boards should be cut-lapped.
As I tucked under the lap last night I experienced a problem with strands > of glass pulling off. Actually the ones that pull all the way off arent > the problem, its the ones that just come loose on one end. The lap on the > bottom had a ton, I did a much better job the second time on the top, but > still had some. What do I do, either to keep these from starting, or to > get rid of them? Also, do you laminate the top as soon as the resin is dry > enough to flip the board? or wait? My lap was so bad from the bottom, that > I waited until it dried so I could sand it away, which I’m sure you all > know doesn’t work very well. It seems if I can get a decent lap then I can > throw the wet deck lam on top and it smooths itself out. Just looking for > some pointers. Although it was tedious, it looks like I should have a > functioning first board …maybe not the prettiest thing in the water.>>> Cheers, Are you doing a freelap glass job? Before you lam try pulling 1 or 2 glass strands( the lowest of the rail cut) off. Works for me everytime. Aloha, Kokua
As I tucked under the lap last night I experienced a problem with strands > of glass pulling off. Actually the ones that pull all the way off arent > the problem, its the ones that just come loose on one end. The lap on the > bottom had a ton, I did a much better job the second time on the top, but > still had some. What do I do, either to keep these from starting, or to > get rid of them? Also, do you laminate the top as soon as the resin is dry > enough to flip the board? or wait? My lap was so bad from the bottom, that > I waited until it dried so I could sand it away, which I’m sure you all > know doesn’t work very well. It seems if I can get a decent lap then I can > throw the wet deck lam on top and it smooths itself out. Just looking for > some pointers. Although it was tedious, it looks like I should have a > functioning first board …maybe not the prettiest thing in the water.>>> Cheers, Got some time to do a clean lap??? there are no easy ways just the right ways. Strands come from a few things. #1 uneven cut when cutting the cloth. #2 wetting out your lap wrong( brushing your lap with your squeegee or a brush to wet out dry spots on the lap. will snag strings #3 tucking your lap wrong. First thing when you pull your cloth and cut it grab your corners with your finger tips at the nose and then the tail and pull them tight. Pulling the cloth around the nose and tail under the the board making it snug. Then cut your cloth in a “Very” clean smooth cut ( no snaging the cloth with the tips of your scissors. When your wetting out the board make sure not to slop resin off the rail till the time comes to wet out the lap. Make a effort to only wet the bottom to the edge of the rail. Work the bottom till it’s wetted out Perfect! Now pour out about a two inch wide of resin down the rail on the bottom a few inches in from the rail from nose to tail( just enough to wet the lap ). Now pull the resinoff the the bottom so it flows down the rail all in one motion. If you kept your lap dry and clean of resin when wetting out the bottom it should flow evenly down the lap. Now from nose to tail with your squeegee start pushing the resin and air down and under the rail. Start from the middle of the board and push the lap under with a forward and under motion always keeping a angle as to push all your excess resin to the ends of the board. Most of the time when you get strands is cause you pushed your lap in to the board "Push it to the ends. It’s a forward and under motion. You may get one in the middle when you start to tuck your lap but it only a few. So when you think your done with your laps and bottom go back and with your thumb and a little resin on it push your strands down and forward to clean up your lap. Then go back and clean uo your thumb job with a small yellow plastic squeegee. Now when you flip it clean up your lap edge with a razor blade scraping it. Then grab some white Mirka sand paper 80 grit and sand any high spots a little acetone helps with this but don’t get any acetone on the dry foam it will turn yellow. Surform the nose and tail and sand it with the 80 grit. If you do this after it’s harden when it is still a little green it’s cleans up nice. I hope i covered it to a point you understand. Good luck… Rob
Got some time to do a clean lap??? there are no easy ways just the right > ways. Strands come from a few things. #1 uneven cut when cutting the > cloth. #2 wetting out your lap wrong( brushing your lap with your squeegee > or a brush to wet out dry spots on the lap. will snag strings #3 tucking > your lap wrong. First thing when you pull your cloth and cut it grab your > corners with your finger tips at the nose and then the tail and pull them > tight. Pulling the cloth around the nose and tail under the the board > making it snug. Then cut your cloth in a “Very” clean smooth cut > ( no snaging the cloth with the tips of your scissors. When your wetting > out the board make sure not to slop resin off the rail till the time comes > to wet out the lap. Make a effort to only wet the bottom to the edge of > the rail. Work the bottom till it’s wetted out Perfect! Now pour out about > a two inch wide of resin down the rail on the bottom a few inches in from > the rail from nose to tail( just enough to wet the lap ). Now pull the > resinoff the the bottom so it flows down the rail all in one motion. If > you kept your lap dry and clean of resin when wetting out the bottom it > should flow evenly down the lap. Now from nose to tail with your squeegee > start pushing the resin and air down and under the rail. Start from the > middle of the board and push the lap under with a forward and under motion > always keeping a angle as to push all your excess resin to the ends of the > board. Most of the time when you get strands is cause you pushed your lap > in to the board "Push it to the ends. It’s a forward and under > motion. You may get one in the middle when you start to tuck your lap but > it only a few. So when you think your done with your laps and bottom go > back and with your thumb and a little resin on it push your strands down > and forward to clean up your lap. Then go back and clean uo your thumb job > with a small yellow plastic squeegee. Now when you flip it clean up your > lap edge with a razor blade scraping it. Then grab some white Mirka sand > paper 80 grit and sand any high spots a little acetone helps with this but > don’t get any acetone on the dry foam it will turn yellow. Surform the > nose and tail and sand it with the 80 grit. If you do this after it’s > harden when it is still a little green it’s cleans up nice. I hope i > covered it to a point you understand. Good luck… Rob Rob’s advise is very good, go about a laminaton like it was a surgical procedure. The first section of lap to be tucked should be pushed under to the edge of the cloth, not shoved onto the middle of the deck, the next thing to do is slide the squeegee towards the nose and tail, starting up on the rail and moving downwards in a series of movements. This will slide any loose strings along the cut line instead of out on the open foam, really unruly strings need to be snipped off before they become trouble makers. Once you have gotten to where the lap is going around the corner, the string problem stops. Pushing the sqeegee along the lap leaves a clean resin line almost as clean as a cut lap. When ready to lap the last foot of rail, I stop and go right to the tips and then work back to where I stopped, this stops the cloth from bunching at the ends. Now you have enough time to go around the board and do the clean up portion, loose strings, cloth globs, resin drips, after all, it is plastic surgery.
…There’s some great advice here…What I do is cut the glass as evenly as as possible.This just take practice,and patience. …In lapping, I move any loose strands down the rail ,towards the nose or the tail,not over toward the center of the board!Then flatten the lap with a bondo blade or old credit card.Herb
After I get my laps saturated, but before I flip them under, I snip any hangers with a pair of all metal scissors. Acetone eats plastic handled scissors when you clean up.