Okay, I’m gonna go ahead an ask a really stupid question here because I couldn’t find it burried in all the various eps sealing threads. I’m sure it will sound like a ridiculous thing not to know, but I’ve only done polyester boards up until now, this one is my first Epoxy job other than doing epoxy repairs.
But anyways, my question is regarding when to route-out the finboxes in relation to the sealing process using spackle or epoxy slurry just prior to glassing… when do you do it? I feel silly for asking, but I genuinely don’t know if i should be sealing first, then routing out the finboxes… or if I should be routing them out first, and then trying to seal them as well as the baord… It seems to me that it would make the most sense to route them out after the sealing process because the jigs don’t exactly leave extra room for sealer material on top of the boxes, but I just don’t want to be wrong.
I put the lightweight spackle (not drywall mud) thinned with distilled water on first, let dry all the way, then sand. Then it is business as usual. The spackle is there just to keep the epoxy from draining too far into the board between the beads and fill in any dings too small to patch. If your EPS is higher density) or in good shape you might not even need it, and some of the folks here avoid it like the plauge.
Awesome thanks man… I kinda figured that was the process but you know what they say about assuming. Do you typically use spackle? Anyone ever try the solarez Zerovoc?
With EPS - I use lightweight spackle and fill all the little cracks and pokas, etc. Then sand.
But, I glass my boards before putting fin boxes in. I use the centerfin boxes and ProBox fins and I do it post glassing.
With EPS (even 2lb), I put some glass in the bottom of the routed holes, some glass around the boxes and then I thicken the resin I use with some cab-o-sil…
I have installed boxes without thickening the resin and I get some bleed into the blank, but with the cab-o-sil it seems to not flow into the foam.
I just tried out solarez Zerovoc with micro balloons on a 10’ EPS sup. It did the job, but I found it to just be too heavy. I’ll be going back to fast n final. There is no way that the amount of zerovoc needed to cover that big a board weighs less than any epoxy that might get soaked into the blank.
Set the boxes when you seal with the epoxy/filler using the same mix. Do the same on the deck for your leash plug/gopro/etc. Not too runny, not too stiff, a little thinner than toothpaste.