I usually just glass it normally. I never tried the cut lap but from what I see it keeps the board nice especially if your doing a pin line or paint resin. I might give it a whirl but I wanted to consult you guys on it before I do. Here are my questions.
I heard when its used on the lam job, it makes for a cleaner sanding. Is this true?
Should you cut away the lap when its fully cured, starting to gel, or does it even matter…
After cutting the lap, should I sand the line of where the glass meets the foam? Or is it good enough to just go into the top lam. (I feel like there will be an indentation and there would be air bubbles on the top lam.
How many layers of tape should I use when creating the cut lap line.
1 layer or tape. cut after a couple of hours so its gelled but not hard and still a touch tacky. use plastic bags on your stands and hands to flip the board. when cut wait another hour or so ,then take the edge of the lap down with a surform blade very carefully. make sure the laps are not to resin rich or the will be hard to cut cleanly. use a sharp stanley blade and put the blade on its side and peel as your cutting
Also when laps are cut and resin has kicked fully....and before you do the top layers of glass. Push the cut lap edge into the foam with the back side of the razor blade, a popcicle stick, or your fingernail. Doing this will give you a bubble free transition from cutlap color edge to the deck edge. And maybe..just maybe you wont need to do a pinline if your lucky.
Usually done only on tinted boards. Clears are almost always freelapped.
Pinlines hide the bleed-through color that seeps under the tape edge. If you’re doing the same exact color on deck and bottom, you may not need them.
People swear by the green 233 or 233+ Scotch/3M tape as it has the ideal adhesive. Lay down a narrow line of tape first around the tight curves, then overlap it with wider tape.
Mask off the deck with red rosin paper after lay your tape to keep any color off the foam on the other side.
Like everyone else was saying they are usually done on pigments (depending onhow opaque) and tints. Do them on clear Volan lams too!!!
pressing the lapline down into the foam prevents bubbles, but also prevents a dark line caused by colored resin buildup along the edge of your cutlaps. On the bottom lap, I use clear lam resin and baste it along the edge of your lap line . I make sure that it is smooth by taking a straight edge(side of a popsicle stick), and running it along the edge of the lap line all the way around the board. This allows you to even out the lap with the rest of the board before hotcoating without sanding the lap, creating a super clean lap line. sanding the lap line can give you a smudge look, and will also give a lighter color to the lap line especially on darker, trickier tints. Cuting with a razor can cause a silvery colored line where you cut the cloth, to stop this from happening, cut as usual with a razor when gelled, then brush styrene along this line, and the silver factor will be long gone.
I don't know where you heard it will be easier for sanding, but I personally feel like cutlaps require more work than free laps.
By not sanding or grinding lap lines, your lap lines will come out as slick as a whistle, and should not require the use of pinlines unless that is the look you are going for
under certain angles and llights when you look close at a board then cutlaps look ten times better even on a clear lam IMO. however industry standard is neat freelaps which are ok as well . i think a cutlap board is easier to finish . the key is to cut with the blade on its side and the lapline will be almost invisible. i do not sand or grind lapline as they look untidy IMO due to fade in colour and residues . if you lay the blade over and wieght it onto the lap as your cutting it will push it flat against the foam as your cutting it and leaves a very slight seration, the seration is why the lap becomes invisibleon a clear lam and is fine enough to look good on colour. the only work i do on the lap is with a surform blade and its used to knock of any hairs of glass and loose bits that are lifting . the blade is used cuved and on and angle and draws along the lapline rather then across it
Hi astevens - I’m no Rick Holt, but based on what he wrote, and my own experience, one is enough, 'cuz you’re only sanding down till it just starts to show, then you can pull it off - guess one’s gotta be careful with the sanding of course. Rick said he does this with epoxy - and that’s all I use - but there is probably something to be said for cutting PE as it gels quick and has a short window.
Does anyone else have tips on the actual cutting of the lap? Such as any particular brand of razor blade, how to hold the blade without cutting too deep or on too much of an angle, feeling for the masking tape with the blade etc…
how about you give us your tips , how you hold the razor blade , angle of your tongue etc !!! really all you need to know has been clearly stated above already … but …
It would be good to hear how a pro manufacturer goes about things so fire away.
**Sorry! We could not find ****www.surfabyss.co.nz**
I’ve only cut lap once. Forgot to come back in time as well. So asking me for tips on cut lapping is a bit like asking a brothel worker what it’s like to be a virgin.
Always cut before fully cured!! There’s a point in the gel process where the resin will be firm enough to allow a clean cut without much fraying of the glass. Cut too early and you get fuzz. Cut too late and it’s just more difficult for the blade to penetrate the resin. Waiting too long can cause the blade to slip because the surface has hardened. Causes accidents.
Wait til the side is flippable .Cut down at the ends where the cloth laps, lift up the lap all the way around and cut sideways. You can trim without touching the foam. Best way I've found, especially with P,E, I do a lot off epoxy lams with resin color, and I don't cut at all. Can let the side go all the way off til it's sandable, turn it over and sand the edge with 100, or 60 grit on the soft pad. Sand til you can just start to see the tape start to show. Get around the whole thing, and then just peel the whole thing off, leaving the lap edge faired in just right. As always, be careful. Aloha...RH
Howzit Rick, So glad to see you back and posting, I have missed you and really wanted to say good bye before I left Kauai but the only thing I heard was that you worked with JD some times. Hoping to get back to Kauai in the not to far future and seeall my brothers. Aloha,Kokua
Howzit Willdog. Making product with Nihi, made shop at his house. Doing it all, all over again some more, shaping, glassing, airbrush, sanding, glossing, polishing, as well as making blanks. Glad that I learned to do it all. Hope you are well, Brother. Aloha...RH
Your the man Rick, and you gave out a better way for the guys here to practice. Follow Rick’s advice and you may not even need a pinline. Way better than zipper-trimming, like he used to.
Howzit Rick, I am feeling better now than since I had the operationand radiation treatments and it is such a good feeling. Glad to hear you are up and running again and giving Papa Sau some competition I hope. Youdon't know how much I miss you guys and also building boards but some things are not meant to be But I may just end up saying the heck to it and get back into the business. Also glad to hear you found a back yard to work out of, rent is cheaper,ha,ha. Aloha,your brother Wildog