one problem i’ve been having with some of my plugs: after setting the plug and sanding down, i see where it doesnt bond perfect with the board with a very small gap in places resulting in leaks. after realizing this, ive drilled it out, re-set it and it usually seals. i have yet to realize what im doing wrong when it doesnt.
im using resin research epoxy with q-cell and a touch of white pigment.
any ideas?
thanks.
one problem i've been having with some of my plugs: after setting the plug and sanding down, i see where it doesnt bond perfect with the board with a very small gap in places resulting in leaks. after realizing this, ive drilled it out, re-set it and it usually seals. i have yet to realize what im doing wrong when it doesnt.im using resin research epoxy with q-cell and a touch of white pigment.
any ideas?
thanks.
Cap the top of the finbox with a little glass. Even as
little as 1/8" will do the trick. Just grind the outer lip down to the level of the foam (about 0.01 inches) and glass it. Feather the glass into the surrounding glass by sanding. La Voila, finboxes that don’t leak.
The other option is to strip the foam away from the glass just under the surrounding glass so there is more resin there to prevent leakage.
But capping the box is by far the lightest and strongest way to prevent leakage.
are you seeing the cracks/gaps before or after your first surf? if it’s before you use the board then the problem is probably air bubbles. multi-stage pours can reduce the heat and therefore the amount of bubbles. or you can just watch it while it cures. capping works fine for fin boxes but it sounds like you’re using fcs plugs. there’s really not much surface area available to work with on plugs, so depending on where your gap is you may not be able to do that without getting resin in the fin tab hole. You also mentioned that you’re using epoxy. If you’re using fcs plugs with eps/epoxy, I’d recommend you change fin systems. there are things you can do to make fcs work with these materials but the extra effort and/or cost makes it worth reevaluating the system.
If you put too much pigment in you can get some shrinkage around your plugs.
Maybe leave out the pigment, Q cells still sends the resin a nice white colour.
Regards
Daren
I just use crazy or super glue. just dab it in around the fin plug after your done with the board.