Hi there, my first post (and first board - a work in progress). Never thought I'd make a board until I got the idea of making a small fish for one of my kids. And so the journey began...I've done lotsa research on this forum, watched a few videos...had a lot of fun and learned a ton. Current progress at T= 4 months is a home built blank w/ cedar stringer ready to glass (it doesn't make me wince when I look at it). I sealed it (I think?) with FastNFinal mixed w/ distilled water to soupy mayonaise. Blank is 2 lbs eps, 4'6" long. I think I may have used less than 8 oz for both sides, including rail and floor globs. After it died, a quick sand and it almost looks like there isn't any spackle there (I can see the beads). But I'm not trying to build up a 1/32" layer correct? Just fill void spaces? Thanks for the feedback!
correct, you dont want to build up anything, you just want to fill in all the small voids so you have a nice flush surface, as long as everything looks filled in then you used enough and your always going to see the beads unless you paint the board
According to Mr Resinhead’s instructions in another thread here somewhere, you did it right. Just want to seal the gaps and sand it down to have the beads showing through for the lamination to grab hold off. I usually do a colored lam with swirls to hide the foam.
Thanks for the feedback, I'll provide updates (and hopefully some pics) after the next step - glassing!
Last night I did some rough shaping on a pair of plywood fins, getting closer to the "Big Day".
Ok almost done, a little more sanding/polishing and then it’s time to see if she floats, hopefully this weekend. First off big thanks to all for the insight and pointers – lotsa time spent research and reading (searched “first epoxy glass job”), also watched GL’s videos on shaping and glassing.
Some thoughts during the glassing process:
I added way too much add F (Homer moment – duh) to the laminate resin (added 1 cc per oz total resin and hardener). And I did that after reading the instructions and making a lam/resin spreadsheet…
Need to work faster on the cloth wet out, I used the RR fast hardener and after about 4 min of stirring the remaining time goes by pretty quick for a newby.
I actually kept the resin in the house to cool it down so I get some extra pot life (garage temps are getting hot here in Melb, FL).
Not sure if I sealed the blank good enough, finished weight is 5 lb 6 oz. Board is 2 lb EPS dims are 4’6”, 17 ¼ N 21W 19T x 2 1/8 th -plus glass). 6 bottom, 2 x 6 top, w/ filler and gloss coat.
The reason I say this is I had lotsa bubbles forming after I spread the hot (filler) coat, but that may have also been due to too much fast stirring, hot resin or too much squeegee action. They sanded out easy enough before the gloss coat.
When I did the gloss coat I made sure the resin, board and shop was about 78 degrees, mixed a little extra resin than what I had originally estimated, stirred 2-3 min, poured, spread (plowed) w/ brush, then once cross ways and once end to end then I tried (really hard) not to keep fussing with it and brushing out bubbles, etc, just went around the rails after awhile to brush off the drips at the tape line. Much better results, a lot less bubbles.
Hoping to develop my shape & lam skills on my next project 8’ LB for her big sister.
Any comments appreciated. Hopefully the pics are uploaded below.
Do I need to seal a US Blank? I made two boards so far with EPS blanks and have sealed them with DAP. Same theory for US Banks? I am a newbie, so any insight would be very helpful. Thank you.
Which US Blank? Is it EPS or Poly? If EPS yes you can seal it. If Poly you don't need to.
I say can seal it, because if the foam density is 2 lb or higher ther is no real need to seal..except for cosmetic reasons. The foam now is so much better than the first generation stuff. were now getting smaller & tighter beads than that old TV packing create foam, or Home Depot $hit.
Thanks so much for the info. I have not yet picked the blank, so your info is pretty helpful. Thanks again.