THICK GLOSS

ive seen many beautiful volan classic boards,but none have the thick gloss shine of a cooperfish.

one friend of mine thinks they add something to the resin, another thinks they do two gloss coats.

does anyone know how they get that gloss so thick?

thanks popey, but our glosses are pure glossing resin and we lay them on thin.

first we put a layer of clear 4oz on the bottom and rails of each board after the standard laminations, then a thin sanding coat. we use that 4 oz as a buffer(instead of a thick hotcoat) when we sand which leaves quite a bit its weave showing. then the thin gloss and polish. this leaves a minimum of unreinforced resin(stress cracks can occur in thick unreinforced resin when the board flexes). the process is labor intensive but it eliminates future stress cracks and improves the strength to weight ratio.

are you basting with lam resin on every lap line? any tips for getting the smoothest rail line, w/o bumps?

Teddy---- Reread Genes post that is what the extra layer of 4oz is for. You won’t need to baste if you do that . If you sand thru on the 4oz after hot coat, so what? The 4oz will give your bitchin’ tint or tiger stripe the extra protection you need to avoid sanding screw-ups. A nice, thin gloss coat,wet and dry,buffed out with polish will do the rest. McDing

let’s say you are doing a double tint, deck and bottom…is it good to add a 4 oz. layer over the deck also?

disregard my last post, it doesn’t make sense…is the last 4 oz. layer a cutlap, or freelap? can it work using freelaps?

Teddy----- Gee! something happened and I lost my post. I’ll try to remember. It sounds like you are getting the idea. After you’ve layed up your resin tint in volan top and bottom; then do a layer of 4oz on the bottom freelapped. Just make sure you come over far enough on the deck to completly cover your cutlap. Then hotcoat the board top and bottom and sand. The flats sand easy . The rails are usually the problem. With the extra protection you now have on the rails you will be less likly to burn thru and damage your tint job. Also be careful around the finbox or glasson fin. Hit it a few times with the sander just to get the worst of it , then finish by hand. McDing

hey all. Gene, just out of curiosity, are you free lapping this coat?

Gene also advised on an older thread that there is some prep work he does on the overlap cut edge… I believe he said they use a roller tool of some sort to actually press the cut edge down into the foam a bit. This minimizes sand through problem at the overlap.

I also have it from a reliable source that Gene has a top notch glassing team that is paid very well. These guys are among the best and if you look over a Cooperfish closely, it shows. Just the fin work alone is incredible. I haven’t seen one that didn’t have custom stringer work under a flawless glass job.

As Easternpacific said in a recent thread - as a collectable, you might be better off buying and storing a few of these than buying a used Da Cat.

Arguably a bargain at current prices.

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this leaves a minimum of unreinforced resin(stress cracks can occur in thick unreinforced resin when the board flexes).

Thanks Gene… I think you just solved a mystery I’ve been having with some of my earlier, and heavier, boards.

One point to help keep things in perspective, if I’m correct, Gene, Tyler, & Clyde don’t do big numbers. They do a few a week, putting emphasis on quality every step of the way. The man hours and technique are dialed for those showroom quality boards we all have come to expect. For the money they cost vs. the workmanship, it’s a bargain. In this day and age of classic Longboards, the cream still rises to the top.

After reading this post the other day, I found myself sitting out in the lineup this morning gazing at the lap lines on my Cooperfish…It’s just unreal. It almost made me dizzy.

I use a roller on all of my UVs. When I’m done with it , I submerge it in a bucket of UV lam and cover it up with a towel until the next use. I do occasionally use one in catalized resin. Soon as I’m done with it I give it a quick acetone, then lacquer thinner rinse. Be sure your wear good gloves when you do this. I don’t use anything but the blue ones when I’m dealin’ with resin and acetone. Lacquer thinner wiil ruin the blue gloves by the way. I always toss my blue gloves back in my acetone rinse bucket, then shake them out good and hang them up. And while we’re on the subject of cut and free laps, Am I the only guy who uses a Dremel to knock down the finished laps? McDing

just to clarify, that 4oz is freelapped but only laps about an inch on to the deck where it’s feathered in when sanding.

if it’s really you gene, i appreciate your responses. your skills far exceed what anyone can build…so basically the 4 0z. extra is to save the tinted bottom from sand thru’s…any special treatment for the deck when dealing with a tinted deck???

hi teddy, if it’s your first volan job then i’d just stick to the basics, i didn’t mean to confuse the issue.

lam it, baste the laps on the bottom before hotcoating, then sand. the whole process requires a fair amount of skill and the first one won’t come out perfect.