Since the weave shows, I heard it’s very difficult to glass with volan, and that it has to be trimmed perfectly.
I can glass and the results are okay (nothing professional, but the quality is sound).
But I haven’t ever SEEN anyone glas with volan, let alone tried it. Is the process a lot different?
Obviously it’s the laps that take the most concentration.
Can anybody point me in the right direction?
it’s called a cutlap (or “cutlapping” as opposed to “freelapping”). there’s tons of info in the archives. basically, you lay tape around your intended lap line, lap onto the tape, and then cut the tape and overhanging cloth off. this results in a nice clean cut lap line. also, whenever i’ve glassed with volan, it’s tended to soak up more resin, so mix up a little larger batch than usual.
Ahhh, we’re on to something. Thanks for the info. I’ll go do a search.
Mike,
I do it all the time. Volan cuts easy, it glasses easy, no worries. You just have to scribe the rail band, lay the “good tape down”, Glass and cut the lap. Flip it over and do it again. Probably would be a better choice to do a 6oz glass job with a smidge of green in it…looks just like Volan, cheaper too.
probably not the best choice for the first glass job, but it’s not difficult if you take your time.
-Jay
…and NO sharp edged rails with Volan, or S, or K cloth
we use s cloth about 40% of the time, it wraps fine on sharp edges, volan though your right takes cohersion I usually buy my volan a few beers, after a sixer it will lay anyweher you want it too
A lotta work and heavier board just for a subtle green tone. The most difficult part is the overlaps at the nose and tail; they’ll be darker. You may want to try just a deck patch first.
Not sure that volan = more weight. It’s just a finish treatment. Most retro glass jobs with volan cloth are done in heavier weights. A link provided shows different cloth weights in volan finish. Hexcel link shows volan and silane finish.
Doesn’t 4 oz volan = 4 oz silane?
http://www.fiberglasswarehouse.com/fiberglass_cloth.asp
http://www.hexcelschwebel.com/Markets/Products/_FinishesMarine.htm
You’re correct John, the cloth weights are the same. Heavier result because of the amount of resin needed to wet volan out. There is a very noticeable weight difference for the same size board in the finished product. Some Weber boards use both volan and Walker foam, I can’t even carry the 10 footers by myself.
Ther is little or no difference with a board glassed in the same weight cloth with a volan finish. Usually it is a heavier wieghted cloth that makes the cruisers weigh more. So yeah, the hevier the wieght, the more resin you need.
I’ve glasssed the same board in usign 6 oz S glass and also glassed the same design in 6 oz volan. the S cloth actually wieghs a bit more.
Drew