Need help installing FCS Fusion boxes over sanded hotcoat

General Discussion
1

I know they are supposed to be pre-glass, but I couldn’t wait for the jig and boxes to arrive, and went ahead and hotcoated the board and sanded(just to get the fin area flat, not the whole board) the hotcoat down.  The board is a tiny 5’2" mini-simmons style board.  My questions are:

1.) Any recommendations for fin placement?  It’s going to be a twin.  I’m thinking FAR back and very close to the rails.  minimal toe-in.

2.) At this stage, should I just cut the holes like I would if it was on the foam, leaving the boxes JUUUUUST below the hotcoat, and glass them in?

3.) Any need for glass patches over the top of the boxes?

 

This board is a PU blank and glassed with RR Epoxy resin.  I read on here that if you are dealing with a poly blank, there’s no need for the fiberglass patches…

Any suggesstions are much appreciated!!!

 

2

Oh, one more thing…

Should I add cabosil to the mix when setting the fins in?

 

C’mon guys…need your help. I can’t be the only person that has installed Fusion boxes after a hotcoat…???

3

 

Warning - .02 from a backyarder, but I’ve probably put in well over a hundred fusion plugs :slight_smile:

  1. super wide tail, fins on the rail, no toe = very fast & very straight

  2. sand the hotcoat down to the lam a little larger than your football patches, THEN drop your boxes, a hair below the glass. Some milled fibers and a just a touch of white pigment. Neatly wipe away whatever squeezes up over the flange. Double check your router depth, dry run on scrap board first, you don’t want too deep or too shallow The glass patch should lay pretty flat from the bottom glass over the flange, you want to avoid any ‘step’ up or down

  3. always use patches

4

The instructions say to put footballs over the plugs then glass as usual. Not glassing over them may lead to issues. 

Not enough glass around fin plugs leads to problems that are a pain to fix.

5

Thank you!

 

  1. super wide tail, fins on the rail, no toe = very fast & very straight…

So what would you recommend?  I want this board to be “skatey” and kinda slide out more than track…Less toe?  Farther forward?  Both?

Was planning on putting FCS FK-2 fins in this thing…

 

6

Allways use patches, Even and more so with epoxy as it can ever so slightly seperate and allow watter in the cap is for strength and seal and adds an overall rigidity and structural Integrety to the area. 2 layers off cloth on the patches.

7

Thanks to all…Any recomendations on fin placement to loosen it up? We’re looking at a 15" tail here…

8

slightly more parallel to the rail than what you have drawn now

9

Gracias.  Still far back though?

10

Good stuff…great advise…Bud and the others are dead on Always always use patches with fusions! Milled fibers… yes…fillers…no! and just to save you a mess. You don’t really need to pour anything with these boxes. I use little throw-a-way paste brushes to just give a good slathering of the holes and the boxes…then slide em’ right in.

11

Thanks.  Put the boxes in tonight…They fit “super snug” using the FCS Fusion jig and bit.  Used a bit of cabosil in the resin and put football patches over the top…What I don’t understand is:

 

When setting the boxes, I know tey are supposed to sit just under the foam…So when the board is sanded/finished, are those little high spots/islands supposed to be totally sanded down and the boxes COMPLETELY flush with the board?

12

Yes

13

Do you sand out the boxes before or after the hotcoat?

14

After–at least that’s the way I do it. If you address air pockets under the glass around the plugs during lamination, you should have a clean sand. You can also open up those air pockets (pre-hot coat), fill them with resin when you hot coat. Haven’t had a gloss coat yet w/Fusion. I’d re-tape and gloss coat, then sand off, polish etc.