I was just wondering the proper sequence for doing 6 layers of glass on a longer board. I’m using all 4 oz glass and so far here it is: 2 X 4ox on the bottom then, 2 X 4oz on top and then another 2 X 4 oz for the deck (about 2/3 of the board) Just wondering if I should do the first layer on the deck, then the bottom and finally the deck layer again or is the latter sequence correct. Thanks, Canuk
The normal procedure would be laminate the 2 bottom layers with a batch of resin.(The layer touching foam cut to the tucked edge,while the top layer is cut wider to lap around the rail a bit. You can roll back to the center the top layer to wet out the underlayment easier,then carefully roll it back to the ends,and continue glassing. This is a little slower and takes patience,so some guys just saturate the top layer and work the squeegee really hard to push the resin thru and get out air. After sanding the lap on the deck side,cut out and stack the other layers in any lengths you desire,only lapping the top one. Wetting out 4 layers is a bitch, but rolling 1 or 2 back and gradually wetting them out as you go is what I’d do. Your lap may roll out kinda crooked if you’re not careful, and give yourself plenty of time with a slower catalysation to wet out all that cloth.
Generally, stagger your layers with the smallest laid down first. The bottom is like Rascoe described. Decks can be done all at once and this comes out the cleanest and with the least amount of steps. I used to glass sailboards with up to six layers on the deck in high stress areas and it became routine. One good tip is to split your resin batch into two parts. Have all four layers on the board (staggered, 2/3 patch first and next biggest after that, then full deck (are you double lapping the last two?) followed by full deck with the largest lap). Have both of your buckets of resin all ready to go. Catalyze the first bucket a little slower than what you would normally. Focus on spreading the batch out all over the flat of the deck rather than also wetting the laps and don’t drive the resin into the cloth just yet. Spread it out REALLY wet over the ENTIRE surface. Rather than cramming resin through the cloth, squeegee the cloth really dry in the hardest zone first (4 layer area), then pull the resin back over that area. Now you can drive the resin INTO that area. You may have to repeat this drying/driving a few times, even if it looks okay. Work the next zone the same way, and then the remainder of the flat deck areas. Mix the other batch with a normal amount of catalyst, or a little hotter if you have met success so far, and re-wet the deck again quickly focusing on wetting the deckside rail and the hanging lap. Tuck in the lap as normal. This “hotter” batch will cross-link with the slower batch and everything should be kicked pretty evenly. The second batch allows you to go around and chase any “holidays” such as bubbles or dry areas. One warning, doing it this way will use quite a bit of resin; estimates for resin should be generous for the beginner, to insure the product will be better. Good Luck.
Just out of curiosity, what kind of board are you building? Intended Use? Sounds interesting…
With UV resin, you would have as much time as you want to laminate your board. Then once you’re done, you just carefully take it outside under the sun lights and it’ll cure in less than 2 minutes. Pierre