Hi - I’e glassed around 100 boards, but I am about to glass a board with channels for the first time and I’m open to suggestions.
The channels are not too deep - about 1/4" - And there are 4 of them that cover an area of about 2 sq ft located within the fin cluster area.
I’ll be using suncure polyester resin. If anyone has any tips for avoiding problems or potential problems to watch for that would be appreciated.
I’ll post a pic later today if that would help
Thanks !
If you are using “sun cure” ie UV Poly; you should be able to lay it all up, get everything saturated good, press down the channels with a plastic squeege one last time and then run it out into the sun ASAP and before they pop back up. The problem usually with channels is that they pop back up after you got them pressed down and before the resin sets. They require babysitting . There are two things I would try though if I were glassing channels. One; Roll the cloth back at the tail like you would if you were doing a lam or logo. Brush a coat of resin in and around the channels(No puddles). Roll the cloth back over and proceed with lamination. This will help the cloth stick and stay down. Or #2; Roll the cloth back and spray or fog a light coat of 3M 77 spray adhesive over the channel area. Roll the cloth back and proceed to laminate. Let us know how it goes.
Thanks McDing
Here’s the pic of what I’m going to do. Nothing too extreme
I’ll be using 6 oz E cloth and I’ve radiused the corners so the cloth will bend around without lifting.
One more question - Would it be a terrible idea to laminate the channels before the rest of the board is wetted out and set the area off with artificial UV light, to get it stuck down and then go ahead with lamming the rest of the bottom?
I wouldn’t do it that way.
If you have access to regular lam resin without the solar catalyst, here’s how we did it back when channels were the “it” thing (thanks Tom Carrol). Take a foam brush, mix up a tiny batch of lam resin with mek hardner. Brush a tiny bit in the bottom of the channel and up the sides. Let the resin kick, it will be verry tacky. Roll out your cloth (that you have already trimmed to size) and use a plastic scraper to push the cloth down in the channels. The lam resin will keep it in place so you can take your time and lam the bottom correctly. This was usually done with 4 oz. cloth rather than 6 oz.
Sounds possible
OK - Thank You
a way to increase resin initial tack is to mix it with cabosil, make a paste spread in and around channel then glue glass in and lam as usual.
Hi Lemat; for a clean clear polyester lamination you DO NOT use Aerosil. In the 80s I saw some glassers doing what you say on PS boards.
Yes, you can do whatever, but that is not the way. We in the polyester clean lamination world do not cover anything with PU auto paints; and other bricolage techniques.
-There are only two problems with channels:
1-if the shaper carved the side of the channels too flat and with too much 90º edges.
2-laminate with tints.
I never saw (directly in close inspection) a 100% resin tint job on channels that have the problem described in the point 1.
Yes; you can do the channels first; then after laminated all the other part (only few minutes) you do it again on the channels sides with your finger.
The problematic part is on the tail laps. Even more problem with round pin tails.
I’m glad i asked
I always had the feeling that part of the reason for channels losing popularity was due to the industry not liking the labor intensiveness during the glassing operation.
After a few years of glassing small scale, I’m finally about to find out first hand
for me more than shaping, a piece of cake, or glassing, not so a problem with glue fiber first tech (cabosil+epoxy not clear lam, now with 9oz stitch glass), it’s sanding that is most time consuming. channels come back on some production boards but often they stop before tail of board, sand a channel board you’ll know way LOL.
Reverb i know some “poly” pro laminator that use the cabosil trick for channels, they squeege it very thin just to glue fiber. But that’s not what you call “clean poly lam” but “shitty production lam”. i know you don’t like epoxy and even more eps now?. i start building board by planing clark foam and lam silmar resin then move to eps epoxy compsand build because i like tech first of all (hobby and job). Each builds have is own characteristics but for me most eps epoxy ( in fact near all production builds) have finally less interest than pu/pe…
The first channel board I worked on was a repair for a friend who ran over (with his car) the tail on a 6 channel board that was new and he bought for his wife.
I felt sorry for them cause it was new and I agreed to fix it … I shaped a new tail for it
It took a long time - Yeah after the glassing then it’s the sanding… As if sanding alone isn’t bad enough
2 squeeges…1 for each hand…Edward Squeegeehands
Seems like vacuum bagging would be the most effective way to glass channels…
I did it
I was thankful for UV resin. It took a long time with 6oz cloth. I had a panic attack. Almost thought I’d ruined my board, but I got 'er done with no bubbles.
Thanks for the hints
I still have to sand it
Good that it is six ounce. Less likely to burn thru. I would use a medium pad and sand the flat and the then fold up a piece of sandpaper and sand the channels.
I plan on using a sanding block with some 100 grit to open when sanding the channels.
I may end up touching the weave in some of the deeper spots in the channels, but I don’t believe it will weaken the board
Late 70’s thru early 80’s. Twin Fins and Single Fins. From what I remember Channels came around on Singles first. Then on a few Twins. I have always suspected and believe that Channels were an attempt to gain something extra from a Single Fin. Probably to affect speed and harder turns. If you think about it as a progression in design, it makes since. Single, Twins, Singles with Channels, Twins with Channels. The next thing you know Simon Anderson came along with the Thruster. Once the Thruster was popularized; Channels were gone. No need. With the use of single and double barrel concave and multiple fins it seems a board can be tuned to to get whatever type of performance you want. I do believe that Channels affect speed and looseness in the tail. There is a lot of latitude in the way Channels are placed or shaped into the board, number of Channels etc. And yes laminators and sanders bitched about Channels and still do.
Haha! Yeah the cloth pops up faster than you can push it down.
…only if you have a vac system…and a stock of peel ply
