I screwed up last night. I was putting the leash plug on and I think I put in too much hardener in the epoxy this morning it was still very soft and sticky. I did put additive F in and mixed it really well.
So far R+R has been good to me an I have had good results.
Can any of you guys give some advice on how I can get out of this sticky situation.
Keep well
If it’s still sticky and soft, pull it out and clean off.
Measure your RR properly and refit…
The heat of setting might assist anything left over in the hole…
can i ask why you used a thinner in the resin to set a plug?
not neccesary
you use a glue thickener like micro ballons and mabye chopped fibre
Assuming its soft enough for you to pull the plug it out then it should be soft enough to clean out the hole and the plug (or use another plug) with alcohol (methylated spirit or isopropylalcohol). White cloth on stick,soak cloth in alcohol.
If set too much to pull out use holesaw or router to remove plug and start again.
I set my plug in a 2lb EPS board with Araldite Rapid (5 minute epoxy) because I had only the fast hardener for RR Epoxy and was conserned about heat and didn’t want to mix such a small quantity of RR Epoxy just to do the plug as it is difficult to get proportions correct.
if it was a cold night (less than 18 degrees) epoxy can take heaps longer to set. If you think you have stuffed up the mix you can heat the epoxy with a hair drier to help remove plug if partialy set.
cheers
I had the same problem with setting FCS fin plugs with epoxy. I think it’s hard to get an accurate mix with epoxy when the volume is so small. You may have been just a little bit off with the ratio. I ended up setting the plugs and finbox with polyester resin, and they came out fine. You might consider doing that.
Before I do another epoxy board, I’ll be investing in an accurate scale to measure by weight. Epoxy is great stuff, but you have to play by its rules. Doug
I didn’t know you could use normal poly to do the leash plugs and FCS fins. I think I will try this method next time. Is doug the only person who uses this method?. Do you have any bonding problems using this method etc.
better not try that on EPS… then you will have a REAL PROBLEM!
You CANNO’T install with polyester in a stryo blank. PSG, while still under the helm of Peter Johnson, said that epoxy was melting the inside of stryo blanks while installing plugs, none of mine have ever melted.(sounds more like poly was used) FCS installs do need a multiple pour though, the resin expands and exceed the limits of the dam, also the EPS burps and leaves pathways that need to be re-filled after the plugs are sanded down. I only fill about a 1/3 rd of the way and do a second pour . Take the time to do it right
so what your saying is its Ok as long as you dont do it on a polystyrene blank. I am using a normal blank.
PS at what age did you you start going into shaping full time??( I know its slightly off the subject)
Swifty, I shaped all through high school in Hawaii and at the end of my senior year, after bugging Dick Metz at Hobie’s, got a job at the Kapiolani shop in Honolulu. That was the summer of '64, but sadly, my Father got transfered to Dover, Delaware and would NOT let me remain in Hawaii, even if I was 18 years old. 21 was the age of majority back then, so I had not become a man yet, even if the “old man” made me go down to Honolulu and enlist in the Marines for such terrible grades.(he relented).
The next summer I went to work for another Hobie shop in Oceancity, Md. and soon had plenty of boards to shape for other shops in town, I was fired soon afterwards. I packed up my trusty Rambler stationwagon, went north to New England and found plenty of work shaping at the small shops I came along in each of the beach towns.(I was far from being a competent shaper, but I knew more than these shop owners) This was the start of a career that is spanning 45 years and has put me into the position of shaping for the greatest craftsmen of our planet. Along the way I was fortunate to come into contact with master shapers who saw I had the spark and invested in teaching me how to build a really great surfboard. Take the time to do it right the first time and do a job that you will never be hesitant to show to others and display with pride.
I still come across the naysayers who give me crap, it seems our “industry” if so composed of fragile egos, that one who cares to do a good job is perceived as a threat to their shaky foundation.
In whatever the material is… plugs go in easy w/ 5 min epoxy…and stay in !..just cut the holes alittle smaller than the plug and file or barrel sand to fit(score the hole(s),as well)…that’s it…that’s all!
Oh yeah and if you say it too expensive…go to the local “99centsonly store” and buy a crap load.
I’ll second that recommendation to get a set of scales.
I avoided it because I thought it would be expensive, then I found you can get great budget scales that are way more than accurate enough for this purpose.
I picked up a jewellers scale for US$15 off NZ’s ebay equivalent. They measure to 0.1 grams.
Now I can measure those small mixes easily, before I had to mix enough to get a decent reading with measuring cup, and just waste what I didn’t use.
The price of epoxy, I’ve save $15 wastage in no time.
Try ebay.
Never have a bad mix again, it sucks real hard eh? Sorry bout your bad luck man.
Kit
Swifty, I need to qualify my response to you regarding your RR problem.
I was using a polyurethane blank for my installation. Epoxy resin / Clark Polyurethane blank.
But my recommendation is to be careful using epoxy on a poly blank. After about a month (just enough time to learn to love my new board) the foam started to “suck in” and collapse. After some questions here on Swaylock’s I found out that other shapers found the same problem with Clark blanks and epoxy resin. The problem may not exist with blanks from other companies, or with Epoxy that’s not RR.
There is so much chemistry going on with all these raw materials, sometimes trial and error and Swaylocks are the only resort. My remaining Clark blanks are all going to be glassed with poly-resin. Doug
Thanks guys for all your help so far.
Last night I reset the plug with quick epoxy and when I went to bed it was looking good. I think the best test will be a few wipeouts.
In future though I will probably use normal poly for the leash plug and fin plugs.
Keep well