Installing FCS fusion after the lam?

General Discussion
1

I'm not gonna do it for the current board I'm glassing tonight, but I was curious if anyone has ever installed the Fusion box post-lam (and I'm talking native install, not repair)? I'm curious because I see a lot of painted boards where the fin boxes are still white but the color is all around them. I'm wanting to get this same effect, but I don't like to paint boards - I'm strictly a resin-tint/pigment only kinda guy. I'm not interested in doing a foam stain either because that still has the painted look, I prefer the color to be in the glass where you can see the weave in some spots, just has a more pure look IMO. I was thinking I could route out the boxes after the lam but I'm not sure if I should do it before I hotcoat or after. I'm also not sure if cutting through fiberglass might risk producing some shrapnel that may potentially eat up the foam around the boxes leaving an ugly install…

 

Any thoughts/experience?

2

Lam… Hotcoat deck… do this so you can move the board around the shop and not contaminate the deck lam…

Mark your lines if you didnt already… Route boxes out.

Install boxes

cover with 1 patch about the same size as your box basically to rest flush with the existing lam… grind to feather into existing bottom lam.

cover with bigger, normal sized football. Feather edges.  Hotcoat… Sand…enjoy…

 

Same thing for Futures. FCSii, Origins, Lokbox, Fin-S ETC

We do this mainly for resin tints… for sprays We just route after the spray. if its lighter… Darker, we route first and use filler boxes during the spray.

3

You can see the steps in this pic… small patches… big patches…routed holes…resin tint. Joy.

2448×3264 1.65 MB

4

Acqua's got some good advice. Some other guys like to do both patches at the same time so you get a chemical bond, others will do a relief cut down the center to avoid air bubbles, and others with do relief cuts around the edges of the patches…it all achieves the same goal. 

5

Backyard jobs, Fusions installed after white pigment lamination. PUPE - UV cure with cat added, 4oz S-Glass

Finished

more example post lam FCS installed pigment lamination PUPE UV Cure 

here's one foam install with black lam. PUPE UV cure with cat added 4oz s-glass

6

i dig when you make just the inserts pop… It just takes a good solid color to pull it off and not see the shadows of the boxes underneath.

7

hoo boy I learned a lot with that black lam, if I ever do something like that again it should be easier and come out better. Lots of extra work. 

 

8

Once again, I'm blown away Bud. For a guy who calls himself a backyarder, you're a bad mothatruckah! Geev 'um!

9

Ya I agree, love it when just the inserts pop out. Glad to see this isn't anything weird. I've done fusions before but always prior to glassing. This gives me some fun ideas for the next board

10

Hey Bud - I LOVE the black board, obviously you used some pigment there but I wonder if you could give a brief bullet list of how you did it? Did you install them after the lam or just colour the resin over the boxes later or… ? Looks awesome, and I have just done my first serious colour lamination, its pretty dark and I don’t know if I will like the white Fusions showing through, wondering if a colour like black or dark blue will look better.

P.S. Would you say Fusions are superior to standard FCS (the post lam black circular things!)?
Thanks and again, lovely work there

11

One of the reasons I love Futures sooo much. You can blend or off-color/contrast their colored boxes with an after lam install and tint or opaque . Even on a clear board they are a nice color contrast addition. I do a lot of colored glue (which is a NC to me) and died/colored Basswood stringers with matching or contrasted Futures. Lowel