Hey mate,
Id spray your board with an automotive 2k clearcoat.
Thats what i do to my epoxy boards and there is no polishing what so ever.
hi shifty with all due respect . this is not the way to go for backyarders. the finish is not showoom for a start. you require special gear and extractors fans, dedicated space, decent guns
mike sabin was really good at doing 2pac sprays but they not showroom finish and if another board builder were not able to repair the board cosmetically. then it defeat purpose of finish coat
poly resin and a 4 dollar brush
any ding guy in the world can repair
how i show is perfectly fine to do a gloss i just used sanding resin unthined
ideally u would thin it with styrene about 7% to prevent the brush dragging ( i had run out of styrene)
the brush technque is fine and it gets a showroom gloss if i feel like making the effort
i couldnt give a rats whats better or worse
i just show my way and i aint changing unless jedi master huie say so
10% styrene 5% wax solution is advice I have been given. Good lighting is really important for a good sand job too. ResinX shines really good too from what I have heard of it, not sure how well it sticks to epoxy though.
I’ve noticed this with epoxy filler coats in the past where the resin is thicker in places. Can be fun and games try to level epoxy with a brush too as brushes don’t spread so well. But when I worked with poly I found that if you set the resin off slower on hot coats, bubbles start to form on the surface which I assume is from the wax rising?
If you use a bit more resin you don’t need to cross stroke it.
**cross or diag is a binding stroke (done right is the only way)
**
your method in good hands is doable but can seperate
shifty i belive we have had this debate before
my advice to the young fellow if it is only two boards is take them to leslie
nothing like the womans touch
**no smart arse comments. ha
**
Gee sorry Silly, i guess i read it wrong. I thought he wanted a pro finish on only 2 boards.
Your 100% right about it not being for backyarders. I kind of never thought about it getting repaired down the line.
As im a spray painter by trade and not a board builder, i spose im out of my depth here some what.
Im not very smart but i can lift heavy things!
bwt shifty those boards are looking sweet mate
My two bob’s worth on the gloss question.Sand to 120 grit only .No more req’d.Room temp to 24 deg c.Board cleaned down with water if possible but not necessary.Tape rail as req’d.Make sure you are not wearing jumpers or anything that fibre might come off. Better T-shirts.A clean gloss is alot about static electricity.Clean hands firstly.Then run hands all over board nose to tail covering all areas.Rub hands together every now and then away from board to release any crap on your hands re;dust etc.Grab some sticky tape .Break a length wide enough for your stick and pull along the length of your board do again.Put resin (gloss ) in tin with filter material attached to side .catalise and pour.Brush out lengthwise then across.all you are doing is removing excess and evening out .remember gloss is meant to be put on thin so therefore requires more catalyst to set properly. brush again lengthwise with much less weight on the brush.this is incredibly helpful for the gloss to flatten out. when gells enough remove tape.do the other side when appropriate,same.Polish is dependant on quality of your gloss .Hard or easy .Your call. Cut rails firstly. Then take your choice.I do top first .Habit.If a dud gloss worst case scenario is 2x 600 then 2x800 then2x1200 for better result. Polish in this case would be 2 coats of automotive cutting compound per side.An art in itself.The art of good glossing is having a clean board firstly,then clean environment.Cutting back and polishing is always dependant on gloss quality. Hope this helps some one.
Howzit Bubbles - you sound like you’ve done your fair share of these. Nice little “how to” write up; clean board, clean room, good brushing technique, all very helpful… . but I’ve never heard the “filter material attached to side” thing - you mean rather than pour thru a filter you have one that stays in your bucket? what sort of filter material do you use?
curious also what method you use to “cut rails” (the usual razor blade thing or ?) and how long it takes you to do 600/800/1200 on a dud gloss (I’m assuming you’re wet sanding all those, ya?).
PS, my “duds” start with something coarser than 600, I can tell you that!
thanks,
Keith
Howzit keith, I start on the bottom with 320 to make sure it is flat and 400 on the deck. I Never go finer than 600 than it's shrulustre and mcguires and out the door and havent had a complaint yet. Have even done some decks with just shrulustre sincet they came out so clean, oh yeah I start the rails with 400.Aloha,Kokua
Hey shifty,
what's your setup like for spraying and what brand of clear are you using?
Hello Keith Melville;
Yes have been glossing for a few years.Material i use is from a material (dress type ) shop.Any material just as long as it can filter a viscous type liquid.Look for a material similar to those that you find in filter cones.Buy it by the meter.Definetly more economical.Cut sections as req’d about 4" x 4". Masking tape on one end.Attach to a tin can that holds volume req’d.I use a dog food can,clean of course.Cheap.Add gloss and catalyst.Hold filter up and pour as usual over board.Spread as you would do.I generally cut rails firstly with type of surform then a stanley blade.Just getting off any bulk if needed.Then 1x600 ,1x800 1x1200 all wet walk away.Do deck and bottom.Each side takes at max;15-20 mins.This for bad glosses.Good results are obviously shorter time frame.At this schedule you can do production work if that’s your area. Hope this is of interest to you.I no longer do production work but still use the same system with a few variations as req’d.Currently doing approx; 3-4 boards weekly A board glossed and polished looks unreal.Short or long.Extra weight is minimal.
Hey Bubbles:
I’m a garage builder from wood to glassing. I was reading your post and had a few qustions for you if its cool.
1. When you say 2x600 ect. Are you wet sanding? By hand?
2. When you use your auto cutting compound…are you using someting like a Milwakee? What speed.
3. “Cut rails firstly” what does that mean?
I’ve learned how to finsh my boards hear on sways, but It takes me hours to polish a board. Not sure if I’m way over kill. I keep my gloss area and board clean. After gloss coat, I start with 220 on the rails where the resin line is (using an orbital sander and by hand at nose and tail). The move from 320 wet to 1000 wet…all by hand…takes for ever! Then compound x2 with my Milwaukee. Then Surfboard Polish x2 with my Milwaukee.
Thanks
dg
There are no doubt many ways to get the end result.All depends on the gloss achieved.I cut rails always first with wet and dry paper always wet.A blade of sorts is obviously needed to reduce the o/lap of top and bottom coats prior to using w/d paper.Most times use 600,800 1200 grits in that order,I was taught it was all removing scratches.Same for top and bottom surfaces. I make surfboards for a living,I want,my customers want,a professional finish.Some say not necessary.Fine,no problem.I no longer do production work,I want a finished product.When I buy a new car ( not often) I don't want swirls etc;appearing .Fussy yeah!Full of shit ,maybe!The gloss determines the method of polishing.Or I should say the extent of.The 600grit can often be done away with.The rest are near on definite.