I put in my second leash plug today and I’ve had the same problem both times. I get a lot of air bubbles coming up and then there are bubbles/gaps when I sand. I use sanding resin, a little Q-cell, some tint, and catalyst. I spent a lot time mixing it today, but I still had tons of bubbles. I filled the hole 1/2 way the first time and 3/4 full today. Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated. Thanks
For a 1 inch leash plug. In a 5oz Dixie cup, eyeball 2oz UV lam resin, mix a couple drops of white pigment and about 4 drops cat. Rough up the sides and bottom of the plug with some 60 grit. Make sure hole is level and board weighted. Fill hole 2/3’s gently push plug in at a slight angle to let out any trapped air. Push until against bottom of hole, turn to get the setting you want, then leave it alone till hard. Backyarder, I’ve used this method over 140 boards, no bubbles, mostly no problems and never had one pulled out
edited to add some pics
The bubbles are from air trapped underneath as Bud said. If your hole is a very tight fit to the plug, the trapped air has a hard time getting out even if you angle the plug in and push down. I leave at least 1/16 gap between the plug and hole (sometimes more) but I put a patch of cloth over it. Another method is to first anchor it to the bottom using chopped cloth (about 1/4 fill), let it cure then fill the rest.
I just noticed your sig line, Bud. Cracked me up!
Or tape over the whole thing and flip the board over to cure. Works for me. Also score under the glass with the head of a screw to give a lip about an 1/8 inch for the resin to spread .
As Bud says laminating resin vs sanding. Q-cell may be part of your problem as well. The thicker texture will not allow bubbles to rise all the way to the surface and when you sand off the excess, you reveal those nasty bubbles. I also use a small piece of 3/4 tape over the hole to prevent spills inside the cup and prevent it from floating up in the resin.
So PeteC, you use a small patch over the plug. I imagine this keeps the ooze from overflowing in the cup? Interesting. I may try that on my next build. My skil100 is working great btw.
Bud is neat!
Me, I am a slob and tape off leash plug.
Hate picking (colored and clear) out bo-bo’s.
BTW what “type #” is your Skil?
Mattwho. I have a 5.5amp typeII. I have been lucky enough to find a few up here. I sold one to Novak and the other to Larmo. I figure they should be in the hands of shapers who use them on a daily basis.
Hi J3,
You said in your initial post you spent alot of time mixing - I think that is more likely your problem, its easy to introduce lots of tiny bubbles into the resin that wont rise out before the resin kicks. this is hard to see once pigment is added as you cannot see the extent of the froth.
Mix slowly and carefully then trickle the resin into the hole in a very thin stream ( this lets larger bubbles escape).
and yes, Bud is freakishly neat, do as he directs for clean install.
hope that helps
I’m not reading anymore of Bud’s posts. They just make me feel inadequate.
To the OP, sounds like you might be using an EPS blank… If that’s the case you can mix up your epoxy with Aerosil and the bubbly volcano will be appeased.
Leash plugs were my job at one point.
Part of a 5+ year fin and Hot Coat gig. (8-10 a day).
I found that putting the resin in with a small 1" brush and pulling resin up the walls of the hole help to allow the bare foam to absorb & displace the air prior to pushing the plug into the hole.
Seems like you see a lot less air bubbles around the plug before the resin kicks.
I put my leash plugs in during the deck Hot Coat process now so I never have that problem.