John (Wednesday, August 31, 2005, 21:12[/url]): Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! I’ve got an old (late '70’s) Ben Aipa longboard which I’ve stripped the glass off of to repair the severe d-lam and water damage on the blank top. Would it be better to fill the damage with spackle or Q-cell? There is probably at least 2 sq. ft. of pock-marked foam which is about 1/2 inch deep in some places. I’ve read some threads which said spackle was great and some that said the opposite. I’m most concerned with sandability (is that in the dictionary?) and potential for further d-lam from whichever one I use. Any opinions? I’m hoping to get this board glassed in time for the hurricane season here in Maine. Mahalo for your kokua,
I’ve always fixed that sort of stuff with qcell and never had problems with further delam. And it’s quite sandable, and I’m pretty sure that’s a legit word.
I’ve never used spackle, but I don’t like the theory of using a water based product for bonding to the foam.
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John (Wednesday, August 31, 2005, 21:12[/url]): Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! I’ve got an old (late '70’s) Ben Aipa longboard which I’ve stripped the glass off of to repair the severe d-lam and water damage on the blank top. Would it be better to fill the damage with spackle or Q-cell? There is probably at least 2 sq. ft. of pock-marked foam which is about 1/2 inch deep in some places. I’ve read some threads which said spackle was great and some that said the opposite. I’m most concerned with sandability (is that in the dictionary?) and potential for further d-lam from whichever one I use. Any opinions? I’m hoping to get this board glassed in time for the hurricane season here in Maine. Mahalo for your kokua,
This is certainly not my area of expertise, but…
One-half inch thick over 2 sq-ft sounds like it would be adding a bit of weight with either q-cell or Spackle. To maximize strength while minimizing weight, I’d be inclined to level off (all) the deteriorated foam so as to present a flat surface (or a simple curved surface). Next “make” a “sheet” of foam (e.g. from a broken board) appropriately dimensioned to fill in the missing area (but not yet shaped to match the deck). Tape off the “edges of the sheet, and the board (to catch any excess resin that may ooze out when you bond the two pieces). Next lay up a layer of 4oz glass on the removed area of the board (lay-up slightly on the “wet” side–add some q-cell if you’re looking to minimize wt). Wet the underside of the foam slab with resin (squeeged pretty dry). Then place the slab of foam in place and compress the area with water bags (or vacuum bag it, etc.) to bring the two pieces of foam in good contact and squeeze out any excess resin. Pull the tape as permitted by the curing resin and the extrusion of resin from the joint. Then reshape the deck and glass with the desired wt of glass. Don’t forget to taper the old glass where the new glass will lap over it (aircraft recommendation is a minimum of 1” overlap per layer). It will also reduce the generation of potentially board-breaking stress points/lines if the new glass patch is in the shape of a diamond or oval (or with “pointy” or rounded ends) instead of the fore and aft ends of the glass just running straight across the deck. (Ideally you’d do the same with the foam slab and internally glassed area when you were beginning the repair as well).
If you do use q-cell, keep in mind that if your batch isn’t too hot, there will be a point during the cure where excess q-cell/resin can be shaved off with a Surform without significantly clogging up the blade…then sanded as the cure progresses further.
John, since you are working with a poly board I would stick with the Q-Cell. Mix it very thick, using as little resin as you can get away with. Lay it on thick and as smooth as you can. Then sand it down. I always end up with some bubbles but don’t worry about them. I just take a blade of some sort and remove the glossyness from the hole then more Q-Cell. Remember you will not get the resin to stick to a glossy Q-Cell. Make sure you have the patch just a little bit lower then the glass on the board and that you have feathered the edges of the glass. Now lay a good coat of glass down and coat it with resin. If you have a low spot add more glass if you do this soon enough, like with in 3 or 4 hours you can do it with out sanding.(Oh ya I always use only sanding resin when doing repairs) build it up and sand it down. Shouldn’t be any big deal. Good luck. AL
May I suggest you have a look at:
http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=219681
and say: “thanks, Doc!”
Thanks for the info.
Balsa, Thanks for the link. BTW, I WAS there today. It was three feet, offshore, no crowds, air 78F/water 61F, not bad considering I was in Kennebunk, Maine.
Mahalo for your kokua,
John
I wish I had been there yesterday…