What is the best way to make that razor sharp edge on the last foot or so on tail rails? I’ve tried a regular sanding block but I just can’t get the edge as sharp as production boards.
i will sometimes, depending on the board, do the top rail first, then blend the bottom rail in. you should have a nice sharp edge on the bottom already, just blend it into the soft rail entry
Tubedog, Do you have some extra resin at the tail? You need that to shape the sharp edge you’re looking for. Be sure you use a hard sanding block. Doug
Are you talking on foam or resin? …I usually leave a moderately dull edge on the foam, then build it up later with resin. I find the rounder edge easier to glass and that way I can always soften it up later (sand out the resin) if I find it rides too knifey. A sanding block is all you need with resin, you can get that edge sharp enough to shave with.
Or at least what works for me: 1. Laminate bottom of board 2. Laminate top of board 3. Hot coat the top of board and don’t tape any of your rails off. Brush your excess resin off your rail edge and under the rail onto the bottom of the board. (your not dealing with a lot of resin here, your just putting a small amount resin onto the bottom of the board next to the rail edge, ensuring the the whole rail is covered). 4. When your top kicks, flip it over and place tape (blue tape, 3m, not the cheap tape, if you use cheap tape, it will leave behind adhesive when you pull it off later) on the outside edge of the rail along your tail, so the top edge of the tape is sticking up in the air about 1/8". Then hot coat as usual. The resin will run down this tape edge and when it starts to get just pull the tape off. When it has fully kicked, hit the top of it with your grinder (or whatever) and hit the sides of the rails with your palm sander (or whatever). You can fine tune the edge to really sharp to mellow. The only tricky part is blending your tail edge into the more rolled part of your rail toward the center of your rail line. But with a little practice, it is no big deal. Good luck.
When I hot coat the deck I lay it on a little heavy in that last 17 inches or so. As the resin drips off I run a bondo squeegee around the bottom flush tight to the bottom taking off the excess resin. Might have to do it a coupla times until it kicks. I use a kitchen timer so I know within a minute when it will kick. this will leave a nice fat ridge line around the bottom edge. I then flip it after it sets and sureform the big drips off level with the bottom. Sand this area lightly and tape off about 1/8 " below the line and hot coat the bottom. Wnen you come back and sand it will be plenty thick enough to put a knife edge on. This works great but takes an additional step ie: sureform/sanding…worth it! MLC