pro glassing vs. backyard

General Discussion
1

So far I’ve made 3 boards through completion, #2 & #3 with homemade ply.fins glassed on. I’m happy with my boards but am curious how much better would my boards go if they were pro glassed. My glassing isn’t horrible but it certainly.isn’t great - sloppy.corners, fisheyes, bubbles.around the fins, etc. So far I’ve felt like my glassing kills my shaping a bit. Part of me wants.to keep at it bit another part OS curious to see.what a.pro job would.feel like.Thoughts?

Ps - sorry, My phone likes to.put In periods.

2

See if you could get a pro to stand over your back and coach you .

3

I’ve glassed 9 boards now.  You get better. ;)  AND your boards get lighter and require less sanding… :wink:

A pro will certainly out do you, but after you get better, you can do a pretty good job of it. :smiley:

4

Save a ton of money.  Practice with the materials on smaller things like fins and repairs.  Dark tints show your mistakes, so take advantage of that.  Once you get good on colors, clear U.V. resin will seem like childs play.  Go make some dark red fins with a foam or plywood core.  That will bring out all of the techniques you need to know. A fin takes $5.00 in materals, and you screw up, you toss it and start again.  A board take over a hundred dollars, and hours and hours.

It will take years to get as good as the real pros, but you’ll catch up pretty quick to the lower level production glassers.

5

You are much better learning how to do it
right and doing the boards yourself. I don’t
like to sand anymore (I have a reaction to it and
the assorted chemicals) and so
have my boards done in various shops. I am constantly
pissed at the quality of the work I get
and I know I do better work by myself if I didn’t have issues
with the sanding, etc. If you are trying to provide
quality to your clientele, do it yourself. That way, if there is
something wrong, you can address the issue instead of
having to pass it off to someone else (and eating the glass job in the process)
and get better as you progress with your craft.  Some on
this board have foretold the demise of the custom board.
I think that this is the beginning of a new age of craftsmanship.
Prove me right, and glass & finish it yourself!
BKB

6

PS: Take an old board or a snapped one
and sand it down and glass about a dozen
glass-on fins on the bottom
of the board. You will get it down by the sixth or so! I don’t
know how many boards ended up this way on
the North Shore, but I have seen more than 4! LOL
Also, take a bad blank, or another snapped tail,
and learn how to route a fin box. FSC, etc…
Practice, practice… practice… A lot of craftsmanship
is repitition, so I hope this helps,
BKB

7

Keep at it and carefully look over the board after each step. that way you can fix air bubbles etc, when it happens. Having a pro stand over me while I learned how to glass on his board was a huge help. Sanding is where you can make a good shape bad. good luck and enjoy all the steps in building a board.

 

 

8

eventually your glassing will become zen like. quick, accurate, percise, clean, smooth, speed..etc.  it just takes time. but you will know when you have arrived. it feels good, the panic will eventually leave the body.  keep on doing what you are doing.

9

you are the only pro you need or can afford.

the best glasser in the universe wants

to get paid the big cash.

your fabrication is PROgressing

three boards?Yes pay somebody

this is your next step to your 

personal PROgression.

You will love picking up your new board

after not seeing it for a few days maybe a week

or a  month .It will look just like somebody else 

who really knows ship made it and you didn’t

make the glaring errors that you wont see

for a few days or maybe a  week or a month.

 

the glassing pro needs the work.

and $300’00 is not too much for a good glass job.

$500.00 is not too much for a better glass job

especially if it’s a standup paddle board…

 

the really cool part is the look on your detractors faces

who have been looking at your first boards and

shaking their heads at the zits and bumps,

the clean g-job will make you instantly credible.

Just lighter in the wallet.

 

resin head is right.

but hireing out a glass job

or jobs is just another

requirement in the curriculum.

…ambrose…

 

10

You should put in your location so somebody can help you

11

Put in some more time and iron out the kinks. Way more satisfying.

 

A pro glassed board may only make you feel like you have a better board.

12

Get in with a local shop… i recently hooked up with a shop in my area doing their sign work in trade for materials and use of the shop for my own boards. I picked up a slot doing ding repairs and am being trained in air brushing and just started dressing boards for lam. I’m hoping to work my way into a permanent slot. The owner says he wants me to learn everything. I SUPER STOKED!!! If you want to keep the process to yourself keep at it and you’ll learn. If it’s not so important to that you do EVERYTHING and you can afford to have someone else do the work… stick to shaping and leave the rest to a pro. Glassing is the kind of work that is definitely not for everybody.

13

If you feel like parting with enough cash to glass 3 of your boards than go ahead and have a pro glass something for you; should be your best creation to date, something you really want to come out nice; if you donʻt apprentice with a shop and immerse yourself in resin it will take countless boards to match shop quality; for myself as well as others pro quality is not an issue; savings and self reliance is…a better deal would be to pay the pro but insist that you be able to observe each phase and pick up some invaluable tips on modern glassing; there is no substitute for on the job training; good glassers are toxic artists who transform white foam into watertight,glossy jewels…chow

14

After my first three boards, I resolved to look into using pro glassers since mine were so painful to look at. I checked out the prices, and that made my decision quite easy! 

I could (1) pay a fortune to permanently stunt my development as a glasser, or (2) save a fortune and force myself to become a good glasser.

Trust me - go for (2) and you won’t regret it. Like others have said, it will become zenlike after your next few boards. 

Around board #5 I started to get the hang of it, and around #10 I started studying @cleanlines in his Master Glasser video (and by “studying” I mean watching it at least 15 times, taking notes, rereading notes, etc.). I started emulating his techniques, and had the good fortune of having a friend glass two boards with me and help me break bad habits.

I just finished #27 last night, and I’m stoked on the results.

Soldier on through the doldrums - you will dominate it!  

15

I am getting ready to build boards again and will have to watch my video to learn how since I have probably forgotten. One thing to keep in mind is that a home glass job with a few cosmetic flaws will not affect the way your board rides that much.

    I have had several factories and we tried to build nice boards. I had this thing about making my personal boards with no logo and just hotcoated with the rails sanded. It became kind of a joke and enjoyed it.  I guess my point is don’t be to hard on yourself and above all have fun.

16

I haven't joined the logo trend yet either, although I used to do logo design for a living.  I guess I just like being different, been that way my whole life.  I'll hand-paint a deck emblem, love doing that, but have yet to put a real logo on a board I made.

My opinion of fiberglass is that anyone can get a passable job if they're willing to stay with it.  Cooperfish or Kensurf quality is a whole 'nuther animal!

17

 

Thanks alot for all your opinions. This quote stands out as the answer to what I was looking for.

 

 

 

18

    Howzit Mr. Clean, When I was being tutored Gary told me I was there when I stopped worrying about if I was doing it right and just did it. I think it happened about # 25 and we were doing lots of tints but I had a knack for picking up things really fast and that dfinitely helped since I was told I should have done about 50 or more before I would get it down. I think that when I closed down the shop the only thing I checked was if the blank was on the racks straight,then I went on auto pilot. Aloha,Kokua