I put a gloss coat on my last board, regardless of the fact it’s 6’3”, because I find it an easier way to glass at this stage in the game. I love the board, and have put it through the ringer a bit, but it seems to get these ‘spider cracks’ a lot more than usual. I know that gloss is suppose to be more brittle, and shortboards definitely get more abused than something bigger (i.e. my 7’10” with a gloss coat that seems to be holding up much better) – is this why I’m seeing so many cracks, or did I do something else. I’ve been laminating and coating much hotter than my first couple of boards, but not hot enough to heat stain the resin… Thanks
Where are the cracks located?
The majority are probably in the vicinity of the rail, though I one or two on the face. I also managed to jam a skeg into my hip, giving me a nice slice and bruise, and my board a huge spiderweb. One crack ran all the way across the stringer.
Hey Rook, some of my first laminations were not squeegeed out “dry” enough, too much resin. I had similar problems with one glass job in particular with cracks in the tail area. Extra resin doesn’t make your lams stronger, just heavier. Tom S.
Thanks Tom, I just started getting the hang of pulling the glass dry, and my last two boards have been a lot lighter. On my last board, I did a good job on the bottom with that – and now that you mention it, the spider cracks are on the deck and rails, but not bottom. I had some problems with the deck, pulling over two layers and I didn’t have enough resin, so I went into panic mode – which always leaves mistakes. But I repaired 5 boards over Memorial weekend, including a snapped nose, and I think I’m getting the hang of this glassing thing. The only big gap in my quiver is a full-blown longboard, so I guess I’ll see just how much I’ve learned.
Rook, If your resin is too hot, you’re making the finished product brittle. A slower cure is better. I’ve had about four boards that got stress cracks rail to rail on the bottom of the board, caused by over-catalyzed hotcoats. Since then, I stay on the light side of the recommended amount of catalyst, and try to do the various resin coats when the weather will be cooler.(Usually at night) That method has worked great. Doug Schuch