when doing glass on fins,would u get a cleaner glass job if u lay on the fin rope first, let set,then lay up the cloth after???
Nope, you should lay the rope and cloth with the same batch of resin.
Rope is super ugly, made smooth by the glass.
Actually the best way to do it is in layers. Tack the fin in place with a little bit of hot glue…a little bit, just a smidge, something more than a tad, but a pinch less than a smear. Put down about 3-5 strands of resin saturated rope, around the fin cover it with a fin shaped glass patch that covers half way up the fin and out on to the board bottom, let that kick and do it again but this time make the glass patch a little bit bigger so it covers the last mess. Take the sander and sand the mess smooth. Hot coat, sand, gloss coat and polish out.
Glass on fins made to take the punishment…never had one fall off.
Put the rope and glass on at the same time, wear your gloves and don’t be afraid to use your hands and a little paint brush.
-Jay
Sometimes the rope may be stiff when you unwind it from the roll. In order to ‘soften it up’, tie a knot in one end of the cut rope, and then flick the loose end against a door or wall a few times. This will give the rope a silkier feel for glassing…
Top tips!
I will be glassing my latesy hollow wooden soon and am making some wooden keel fins to go on. I was wondering about glassing the fins into the board rather than onto it. What I mean is to stick the fins to the wood bottom before glassing it then glass the board as usual but carry the glassing up the fins. Would this give a better smoother finish?
The last (and first) board I did came out OK but it’s a bit rough around where the fins join the board.
Jase (MMM)