Glassing? Help

Glassing my first surfboard which type of volan cloth should I use

I don't understand. Weight? what do you mean? Volan is just a finish on the glass I believe. someone correct me if this is wrong.

If it is weight, then I would say it depends on what board you shaped and how heavy you want it. good luck

well I wanted to know if i should get 4oz or 6oz its for a 6'8" short board

 

I am buying laminating resin and it comes with a mekp catalyst do i add the mekp catalyst to the laminating resin in order to sand it or can i not sand S249A even with the catalyst. Confused

You should probably check the surfer steve website,he covers the basics of the basics.It’s not going to matter what type of glass you use if you try to glass an eps blank with polyester resin…

…you should always add mekp to the poly resins.

lam resin + mekp

sanding resin (lam resin+styrene with wax) + mekp

gloss resin (from the factory)+ mekp

gloss resin (do it yourself) (equal to sanding resin but with a bit more styrene) + mekp

so, you use mekp always

 

Climbreelhigh,

I thought that I posted this yesterday but I guess I didn't click the post button cause it is not showing. anyway, for a shortboard, I personally would either go 4x4deck with4 oz bottom or a 6/4 deck and a 4 oz bottom. volan has a greenish tint to it so it looks better when it is cutlapped. free lapped volan tends to look sloppy. silane glass is clear and does not need to be cutlapped so it may be a better choice for your first board. good luck on your project

"so, you use mekp always"

Except when using UV cure poly... it's not needed then.  For a first time glasser it (UV cure) is a good way to go.  It gives you more time to get it right if you've properly blocked out any UV light.

(reverb - Sorry to nit pick.)

thanks guys, I am so freakin stoked on this project. I have been wanting to do this since i was a grom. Who knows maybe it will be shitty maybe it will turn out great but I am gonna need all the tips I can so hope you dont mind just apologizing for the future questions. STOKED

 

None.

 

 

A first time glasser should go with silane. More forgiving.

You shoulda spent a few weeks just reading and researching sways before you even asked any questions! With what you know now you will screw up for sure ! If I told you to mix your bottle of mekp into your can of resin . stir it well and drive to 7 -11  and get beer while the resin ages, would you do it ? What would you tell the fire department when you got back with the beer ? Did you ever do any home work in school ? So far you are not even close to knowing enough to do your first surfboard ! Go back to step 1 and start all over !!!

…hello John,

I know about that after I hit the buttom

but I wanted to be more clearly to the guy.

I think now he s too confused about to put Mekp or what s that about UV stuff…

lol wood ogre i have been doing to much research but there is only so much on the net you can find instead i get reply like yours thanks for trying to help but that would be a stretch of the truth. I actually ordered the lam resin with the mekp catalyst and 4oz cloth and a blank so I am doing it whether you or anyone else likes it ogre..

well i got a pu blank and poly resin with mekp I was just wondering if i could sand it says it drys tacky and not to sand it i was just confused....and sometimes i am a bit unclear with my words. I am in my early 20s blindly going into this I have been surf my life over but now I want to get into shaping and I am thanks everyone for the positive feed back

You need to add Surfacing agent, which is paraffin wax and styrene mixture, to the lam resin in order to make it sandable. the wax rises to the surface of your hotcoat, and allows you to be able to sand your board with out clogging your sandpaper with tacky resin. Good for you to be glassing your own boards. no matter how it turns out, your first board will be fun. improve on the second,third, fourth, and so on. it becomes addicting.

chances are, if you search the archives, someone else has asked the same questions you have which will guide you through your first board. this place is a wealth of knowledge. good luck

Hi climbreelhigh, I had some similar questions to yours when doing ding repair and board art. (I KNEW somebody would make a grumpy comment about reading the archives first… don’t take it personally! It would’ve taken that person less time and less typing to simply answer your question, LOL.)

Where do you live? I’m in Orange County, California and there’s a great place here called Foam EZ in Westminster that is very helpful for both supplies and information. One of the guys that works there explained a couple of things  to me that really made the light go on and cleared up my confusion. Maybe it will help you too:

1.** Whether you’re glassing a new board or fixing a ding, using resin takes at least two, often three, distinct steps:** laminating the fiberglass on, then hotcoating, SANDING after the hotcoat,  then gloss coat IF DESIRED. (*If you were fixing a ding, you’d dry out, clean and sand any holes that went thru the glass first, then fill with a mixture of resin, catalyst and Q-cell before laminating on a new, appropriately sized piece of fiberglass over the filled ding for strength.) 

  1. Laminating resin DOES dry tacky. That’s why you cover it with the hotcoat, which CAN be sanded. (That’s the part I didn’t get until Grant at Foam EZ very patiently and kindly explained this to me.) The fact that it dries tacky, means you don’t have to do any sanding before you apply the hotcoat. And you can apply it as soon as the laminating resin sets up.

  2. Laminating resin is the basic ingredient. You add some surfacing agent to it to make a sandable hotcoat resin. You add even more surfacing agent for gloss coat. You add the MEKP catalyst to each of these right before use, to make the resin “set up” and harden. The amount of MEKP you use depends on things like the weather AND the depth or volume of resin you use, so it’s VERY important to know the right amount. Too much MEKP can even start a fire! (As Wood Ogre said.)

  3. You don’t necessarily need a gloss coat. Many boards, especially clear shortboards, just have a hotcoat which is sanded to 400 or 600 grit. It’s much lighter, nice and smooth, and even more hydrodynamic than a gloss coat.

I recommend that you get a DVD from Foam EZ called “The Ding Shop” which shows all these steps in detail and is super helpful, as well as a paperback book they have called “The Ding Repair Scriptures”. (Even though you would think these DVDs/books are only about ding repair, they explain the whole glassing process and are  quick and easy to understand.)

I appreciate much thanks Art4peace. I like that name my little cuz on his guitar case has a sticker that says make art not war....Mahalos for all the helpful people. I have been studying a lot just last minute questions. there is so much false info on the net but also a lot. I know I should of read the archives first or more thourghly... Mostly what I was confused about was the ratio or lam res to mekp which i guess directions will be on the tin and if you could sand the lam resin but appearantly not but thanks for working out those kinks for me i nice to get feed back positive or negative the hawaiian in me wont let me tolerate guys who think for whatever reason can tell me i cant do something and i need to go back to square one wood orge. I honestly cant believe the odasity of that guy was a little hostile lol whether woodorge or god himself told me not to make the board I would still make it...I assume like surfing shaping will become another addiction of mine i love surfing and I assume everyone on this site does also. why be harsh and hostile so maybe i should of read more archives sue me...Thanks once again for the positive feed back guys

Many guys here will tell you to research the archives because the same basic, simple beginner questions are asked over, and over, and over, and over… by a LOT of noobs.

It has been suggested that a beginner’s primer/FAQ be posted here.  I think it would be a good idea and we could just post a link to it when these really basic questions come up.

Type volan glass in googles, click on search. There is enough info there so that you would know what volan glass is. what kind of boards it is used on. Where to buy it, how much it costs. How many oz to use for what ever board (or boat) you are glassing. There is no doubt that you didn't do your home work so I stand by what I say, Go back and start over and after you have done some research come back and ask ! The German blood in me makes me an angry person, The American indian blood in me makes me want to be a drunk. Nothing worse than a nasty drunk !! Your young , didn't one of your teacher ever  scold you for not doing your home work? Ya , most everyone knows Wood_Ogre is a nasty old asshole so get over it !!

High Climber, Be he a nasty old a$$hole or not, he's right. From your questions, it is quite apparant that you really don't have a handle on the whole laminating concept. Folks here are trying to save you from grief. Watch as many videos as you can. If you can't afford to buy one, look at all the ones on You Tube. It is not easy to produce a good lam on your first time out, but you will learn heaps from mistakes...we all did and still do. Do yourself a favor and get the process in your head first. When you have answered most of your own questions then maybe you will be better prepared to have a sucessfull outcome.