cool video... seems like he works the rails a little much?
I like how he does the laps…interesting approach…seems like it would get pretty frothy and you’ll have so much left in the pot.
at this point I rarely lose more than a drop or two on the floor…and this stuff is about 10% more expensive than standard RR for the 3gal kit.
Yes, interesting. Sort of a modified “curtain of resin” approach like as the PE laminators. I’m guessing that is his background so it makes sense that he would do a mod of that.
I do it differently, but there is no one “right way”. I guess.
i'm keen to hear your guys' approach to wetting the laps... i more or less do it the same way as Stretch in the video -- modified curtain of resin.
edit: using epoxy of course
generally, i pour out all the resin on the flats in maybe 4 or 5 strips. wet out the flats and bring the excess material to the edges by the rails and sort of stock pile it in a row. then (after I am sure I have enough material to coat the hanging laps) i begin to pull the resin down on to the laps. the key difference for me is that I hold the laps from behind with a gloved hand and just roll the resin down and sort of pat onto the cloth lap. much less material is required and a lot of the excess is held in your hand as you move down the line. very little gets away from you.
let me know if you have questions.
I was at another demo from one of the guys that works for Strech on Saturday at the SC. He used the same technique as the one in that video, and was using KK. He initially mixed 12 oz of resin. After he was done there was about 3 oz of resin left in his bucket. He said that the key to not getting bubbles was to make sure you have enough resin to fully flood the laps. He did a masterful job, and the final lam looked great.
In one of Gregs KK threads someone described a procedure that I would loved to have seen. If I can remember correctly, they said they first folded the dry glass up onto the deck. Then they basted the rails with a brush. Next, they unfolded the glass to hang free, and proceeded to pour the rest of the resin onto the deck. Finally the dry laps were simply folded under and allowed to stick to the wet rails. I'm not sure if a final brushing was required to fully saturate the glass.
I have used a similar method to glass on a fin, but haven't had the opportunity to try it on a deck lamination. It sounds like this methods would be the best at minimizing bubbles, and on using the least amount of resin.
I found that method highly susceptible to the threads pulling out at the ends…I would love to see a video of someone doing it that way cleanly.
I fold the laps up and saturate them from the top as I move the pours around the flats. The key to not pulling the threads is to not touch the folded cloth and just push the resin over it, but not so much that it flows over the fold. I sometimes use the squeegee to flip the resin. Once everything is wet, I flip the laps down. There is usually a dry area right at the fold, so as I squeegee the flats, I baste that line similar to what Greg Tate does using the excess taken off the flats. I then pull the laps around, middle to each end. If I poured too much, I gather it in one spot on the flat and then pull it off into the bucket over the lapped edge. I then go over any dry areas with a 1" brush, and use a hard squeegee on very wet areas. I picked up this technique from doing epoxy swirls as a way to not get the laps muddy. The key is to move the resin around but have as little contact with the cloth as possible until you’re ready to pull off the excess.
a ha!