First off I want to thank everyone who shares their knowledge on this site. It has really helped me to better understand surfboards and allowed me to shape my first two boards. Now onto the problem
I just attempted my first glass job and it turned out awful (have not done the sanding or hot coat yet). There are several areas on the decks that have soft spots where it looks like delamination has occured. What would be the best way to fix this? I would like the boards to come up looking great and not have to sand everything off and start over. Have others had this issue? How do you make sure it does not occur?
I also had some problems on the lapping over the rails where some of the laps would not get completely wet and when they harded there are little areas that did not glass that makes sanding very difficult. Any suggestions on how to fix this? Also what is the best way to to do the laps I found this to be pretty difficult.
PU/PE or EPS/epoxy? Sounds like outgassing from the latter, in which case temp control was most likely the issue. Pics would help. You may have to remove the "delaminated" areas and re-glass.
Lots of info in the archives about lapping, but knowing what materials you used will help get you some feedback.
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Thanks NJ, I used EPS / Epoxy. Any help is much appreciated
PU/PE or EPS/epoxy? Sounds like outgassing from the latter, in which case temp control was most likely the issue. Pics would help. You may have to remove the “delaminated” areas and re-glass.
Lots of info in the archives about lapping, but knowing what materials you used will help get you some feedback.
I just had the same problem. I realized pretty quickly what started the whole downward spiral. First board, first glassing attempt.
The first mistake was with the lack of diligence in making sure that my lap was clean and smooth. When I cut the glass I didn’t take the time to make sure that it was a super clean cut. So it didn’t turn out very appealing to the eye.
Secondly, NJ surfer is right. Because the temp in my room was a little on the cool side it took a long time to cure. When I left and waited for it to cure, some of the glass dropped down and then cured, creating these areas that weren’t even in contact with the deck.
Next I didn’t sand down those bumps. Keep in mind, they were small but they were obviously creating air pockets when I laminated the deck. Instant problems.
Then,(yeah it’s a mess) I didn’t use enough epoxy to thoroughly wet through the double sheets of cloth. This is where all the soft spots came from in my scenario. Not enough resin=unsaturated cloth=soft softs. I had to cut out large sections of the lamination and reglass. It was too far gone at this point so it’s now sitting in the rafters waiting until I get ambitious enough to retackle it with a different approach.
At this point I’ve moved onto #2 with a whole lot of lessons learned and I promise I won’t be making those mistakes again.
Hope this helps. I know it made me realize that I’m not alone. So, sorry it happened to you too but, thanks:)
Just look at the first one as a total experiment and expect problems. At least you learn alot from the experience. I just had problems with temp and epoxy cure also using eps. Lots of good info if you search the forum, I was able to find answers to just about every problem I have encountered. Good luck, any photos?