I am new to this forum but midway through my first wooden board build. I have glassed the bottom using the method described on How to Build Your First Surfboard and due to it being my first go etc I’ve managed to get quite a bit of resin on the deck whilst wrapping the rails, also there is a bit of the edge of the glass strands sticking up.
Now, I’m not expecting this board to turn out immaculate and I’ve learned a lot so far, but how would you go about dealing with his before I laminate the top deck? Can I just sand this back smooth and proceed? (Structurally I think this would work fine but will I be left with an obvious non-clear sanded area in the glass job?
Anyway, please take a look at the pictures attached and let me know what you would recommend, I’m pretty happy with the flat section of the job and the rails, it’s just the edge of the freelap and the excess resin that has concerned me.
Well, I would just sand it smooth before proceeding, that seems obvious to me??? You say
and I’m not sure what “obvious non-clear sanded area” means. Each layer is only gonna be as good as what’s underneath, so if its bumpy and crappy then that’s the most you can expect, if its smooth and clean then you have a much better chance of a smooth and clean lam. Just sayin’
Sorry I should be more clear, I’ve never sanded fibreglass before, so when I start to sand with a coarse grit paper it goes an opaque white colour, I presume as I progressively sand to finer grit it’ll clear?
With Epoxy resin on wood boards I will free lap the bottom lamination wrapping the rails to the deck side like yours. Try to be as neat and tight as possible to save sanding time.
I also put a filler coat of resin in the weave to include the fiberglass to the deck side with a 4" double thick disposable chip brush. I baby sit the drips forming on the deck side(facing down) for 20-30 minutes. Check every 5 minutes and wipe drips forming on deck side(facing down).
Attached pics of where you are at now. Pics of first time builder sanding that deck fiberglass transition smooth being careful not to get into the wood on deck. wood boards very forgiving to pull this off. Sanding pad is medium to soft pad with grit for him at 80g and then moving to 100 g for final feathering. Straight up foam boards I would tape off deck and do a cut lap and then sand and do a free lap when glassing the deck. If you don’t have a sander just take your time and fold an 80g sand paper in half or fourths and just use elbow grease. 3 different boards in pics. Same board with pic of first time builder in it.
grandmaster, It won’t go clear from sanding but the next layer should make the white go away if it is blown off good and sanded fairly smooth. Keep reading and searching this forum the answers are there.
Someone else said it, but I’ll go ahead and reiterate: the whiteness that you see in the sanded fiberglass will disappear when you reapply resin on the next phase of lamination. Just make sure you remove all the sanding dust from the pores of the board (easiest if you blow it off with clean compressed air). Any dust that stays trapped in the pores/nooks/crannies will stay white.
Thanks for all the replies, I realise my questions are probably very basic but I’m a first timer at a lot of this. I’ve read a lot through this and several other forums but couldn’t find specific answers.
Wet sanded the freelap today, definitely burnt through the cheater coat in a number of spots trying to remove large amounts of material where I’d left large globs of epoxy. Overall though I’m happy so far as I wasn’t expecting perfection and you learn a bit each time, in this instance to take more care when glassing so you don’t need to remove large messy bits!
The whole board is a bit wonky and lumpy due to the construction method I used not working out, but as a first board I’m learning a bit anyway and am in the position of if I can take it out and catch a few waves on something I built entirely myself I’ll be stoked.
Leaving it to dry now and probably have a go at glassing the top deck tomorrow after I pick up a couple of cans of compressed air to blow out the dust.
I’ve got a couple of holes where knots in the wood fell through after construction, my plan for these was to cover them with a small patch of transparent plastic before glassing, to support the resin and cloth whilst it cures. They are approximately 1 cm in diameter, any better ideas?
Regarding the knot holes: if you can fill them with epoxy (if its not hollow behing them), just fill them, otherwise just overglass them. I do not know your glassing schedule, but if you use a medium weight cloth it will hold and it will be watertight too, if you apply after the first glassing a second or third gloss coat. If you do two layers of glass anyways, there should be no problem at all, unless you want to stick a chisel or a screwdriver in it…
I do not know how you designed the inside of your board, but if its hollow, you should think about a vent.
The first board is always special, but according to me, the only purpose of it is to learn the basic skills and that it hopefully works. It will surf anyway, since people can surf doors or Alayas. The second and third is to get better and after the fourth you can start to think about beauty etc. And even if you build 100 boards, especially wooden ones, there will always be something not work out as intended, but do not care, the only guy who notices it is yourself, usually the others, do admire everything (unless its another builder, who knows…)
I was planning to glass the deck with one layer of 4 oz cloth and epoxy followed by one layer of epoxy hot coat. Do you reckon that’ll be enough? I can always put mini deck patches over the knot holes to double up on the glass on those sections?
G-Master-O
What is you planking thickness and internal framework spacing? That could influence advice from one layer to two layers cloth.
+1 on including a vent.
Have you seen any of the work by our member Paul Jensen? http://www.hollowsurfboards.com/
There is also the WBF: https://www.woodboardforum.com/ and there are a few members here who are there as well.
All the best,-J
5mm of cedar may patially be only 4 after sanding, but only 4’ rib distance gives a quite stabile deck. You may apply some pressure with your fingers and see if its bending between the ribs. Depending on that I would decide on one layer or two, or something in between with a thicker and a thinner cloth.
With two layers you should be on the safe side regarding the knots, patching will help too, but you will get a little bump (which I would not care for the first board…)
I would definitely fill the knot holes, just cut a small piece of wood with tapered edges so it fits tight like a cork and epoxy it in place, and sand it smooth.
For dealing with general lumpiness, which is so common with wood boards due to varying densities of grain, I seal everything with eposy resin, then sand with a sanding block. Repeat several times. Sealing with epoxy makes the surface toughness more uniform, using a block means you are just taking down the high spots.
Good advice from Huck on the sealer coat and block sanding. “Elmers” Wood Putty will also work on the knots. Will show due to it’s lighter color, but applies easily and can be sanded flush.
Sanding on wood allows you to feather boogers of resin and fiberglass to wood. Even if by hand.
Sand lap on deck, rails and scuff boogers off bottom where deck lap will be wrapping. 20 minutes max with machine and obviously more time if by hand
Before and after scuffing. Using worn 100 grit on medium pad
