Didn’t find anything from search addressing doing a cut lap on a eps blank that was painted.
How do you do a cut lap on painted foam?(without ruining the paint job). For me specifically I have painted eps and using epoxy.
I just did a cut lap on an eps board and the masking tape(1/2 in. 233+) pulled up a lot of the white paint that i put on to cover some grey fast and final. Not a big deal at all cause the foam is white but I have 2 more boards to do for friends that have color where I would put the cut and masking tape. I know heating up the tape with a hair dryer works decently for when painting. Is a hair dry feasible for pulling the tape during the lamination? Is there any other methods used for cut laps on painted foam? Or is my best option to try and do a very clean free lap?(doing a clear glass but I wanted to keep the lap clean so that’s why I’m trying to do a cut lap.)
As far as I see it you have three options if you are painting the foam.
1. Do a free lap with clear so that you don’t disturb the foam. Many people paint the bottom and deck different colors giving a “cutlap” appearance. You can also paint a pinline on the foam before you glass it clear. I personally don’t prefer this method but it looks ok from a distance.
Paint the bottom only and leave the deck clear. You end up taping on the clear foam so there is not worry of your tape lifting up your paint job. If you hit the clear foam while cutting the lap you will not notice it as much if with a clear deck.
3. Do a cutlap as careful as possible and cover up any “oh crap” moments with a pinline on top of your hotcoat. Personally I don’t see the need to do a cutlap on a painted board unless your’re playing around with volan? or cheaper materials that may show your freelap. I can’t comment on heating the tape before removing it. Someone else may chime in on this one.
Consider that I am giving this advice as speculation since I do not paint boards myself. I do a lot of cutlaps, but only when I am using resin tints/pigments or volan. Good luck.
the last painted board I did (checkerboard pattern)was airbrushed on the foam and had similar problems with paint lifting. I asked the swaylocks guys for advice. Unfortunately my saved messages were lost (didn’t print a hards copy) with the last site overhaul and I lost alot of valuable info.
What I remember is if your airbrushing your board, thin the paint with clear acrylic floor finish (used to be called Future - I think Pledge makes it now) instead of water. If your brushing it, after the paint drys seal it with the clear acrylic finish that you can buy in rattle cans from art or hobby stores (Spray after the paint has dried).that worked great for me.
I attached pics of both boards. Tonight I did a cut lap on the striped board since I already had the tape on it. I used a hair dryer to heat the tape. The first half of the stripes nothing pulled up at all. Then the second half paint pulled up right along the tape edge a lot. That might have been more because the epoxy was a lot more cured on the second half. The pinline I’m planning to add will hopefully cover it up.
Tomorrow night I’ll do a free lap on the half and half board. I like cut laps better cause I think the lap clean up is easier and covering it with a pinline is an option but the uneven lap you might see under the glass is probably a lot less noticeable then white spots all around the board. I’ll have to search the archives for tips on keeping freelaps clean.
Feelap---------Cutlap. They both have their place. Paint on foam ='s Freelap. Learn to do a clean Freelap. Being able to do a clean Freelap is another tool in your tool box that can be used whern needed. Cutlaps should be reserved for tint/pigment jobs, Volan and clears. Use a Freelap for painted foam. You would also be better served using a less sticky tape like 3M Blue Painters tape. I never use 233 on painted foam. Lowel
Thanks for the tip about the blue instead of 233. I was concerned about the cheaper tape leaving residue based on past experience with ding repair I always seem to have lots of residue from anything but 233 so I was concerned if I cheaped out on tape I would end up with a worse problem then a bad paint job.
Using the right tape from the right manufacturer is more of an art that most people think. Just because a tape is expensive and there is a lot of jargon on the website doesn’t mean it will work for surfboard production. I have found (to my regret, when I had to eat a board or two sent to japan, lol) that bleeding tape is not the way to go as well as tape that pulls up paint like your issue. Here’s my 2c… I use 233 for taping stringers when airbrushing multiple colors and wet slow drying temps. I only apply it once and lay it down and then use the blade of a dull razorblade to press it into place. I use 232 tape (cheaper) for cutlines and general taping for two/three, etc. color work and not ever had lifting of paint on foam. The picture I have posted is a white spray first coat followed by the two color spray. Glassed with silmar resin and double 4oz. deck & sanded finish, no gloss. (my latest personal board) No bleeding under the stringer with the different psiny aplications, and no lifting of paint from the blue or yellow spray. I use high quality acrylics and give liberal squirts of futures acrylic (which I will use until they stop making it and am forced to switch to a commercial paint acrylic that costs 3 to 4x as much) in the mix. I have used futures + white glue but seen no difference in adhesion. My boards last a long time and don’t delam from the paint even with darker colors. (not black, LOL) This is on pu/pe construction, but I have seen the same results on the EPS boards that I have made. I sand down the filler (fast/final or epoxy&balloons) until I see the bead surface with the filler in the gaps, then I spray. Do some tests on the same material with the same lay-ups and you will find what works in your neck of the woods. Just my 2c…
There are lots of opinions on this topic and I don’t necessarily disagree with any of them. Do what works best for you. I personally think you could use several differant tapes on painted foam. It’s a matter of taking percautions. Sealing the painted surface etc… The key is in the manner in which you apply and press down the tape. The taped edge should be pressed down evenly, but not necessarily pressed down super hard.
