So, in tribute to the traditional duct tape patch job, I am thinking and toying with the idea of laminating a small duct tape “patch” on the rail of my next shape. I think it would be cool and kind of funny to have this underneath the glass, so it looks like a crappy patch, but is actually part of the board construction.
The issue, that I am sure most of you have already identified, is delam later down the road. I’m not necessarily worried about the tape pulling off of the foam, but the glass pulling off of the shiny and smooth backing of duct tape. Obviously there are different grades and brands of duct tape with different physical properties, so I will look for something thin and with some sort of texture on the back, but I wanted to put this to the boards and see what kind of thoughts and ideas people might have.
If all else fails, I can always print a high res image of duct tap on some rice paper, and just lam that on the rail, but it just wouldn’t feel as authentic and certainly wouldnt be as much fun.
Of course! I always do tests before doing something on a full board. What I’m looking for is ideas on how to promote good adhesion between the glass and duck tape backing.
I am guessing that if delam happens, it won’t be immediate, and would happen after regular use, which is not something I can really replicate with scrap foam.
While not as shiny as plain old "duct"tape, gaffer’s tape looks similar and has a surface that might be better from an adhesion standpoint. It is used in the enertainment industry to temporariliy secure things, and it is far more expensive than duct tape. It comes in gray, so it looks a bit like duct tape. I buy mine from
If you are intent on doing this, I’d suggest doing a glass layer under and over the tape. Then, if the top layer doesn’t stick to the tape over time, there will still be a barrier underneath.
Maybe a little “outside the box”, but try spraying a little 3M Super 77 contact cement on the tape first & press the glass onto it before laminating. Might be worth at least a test beforehand.
I strive for perfection. Duct tape over a ding is a repairman’s nightmare. It does not keep out water and it takes a massive amount of time to get rid of the duct tape adhesive…Why continue to glorify this ?? Good f’ng luck glassing over the stuff. I own a box full of hammers. I’d be more than happy to ding your board before you glass it so that you can duct tape it.
poly resin will melt the crap out of duct tape…It’s not made for chemical high heat from solvents
Epoxy won’t melt it, but the smooth surface will delam when it flexes.
SO it the patch chunk is small enough, it really would be that big of a deal. But it will do one of the above.
My solution would be to photo copy a chunk of duct tape, print it on rice paper, and spray the back side of the paper grey or silver water based paint to make it look totally opaque. It would be a close match…and be completely functional.
Or better yet, why not just do layers of duct tape over the entire board instead of fiberglass and resin…might even be cheaper? and should last at least a few weeks…shouldn’t weigh more that 30 lbs too? flexible, no need for wax…silver reflects heat…little holes in seam will let outgassing, easy ding repair, don’t need a travel bag, you could easily add pouches on the board for carrying credit cards, GoPro, wax, extra surf trunks, car keys, magazines, toilet paper…beer
Man, sorry I missed this earlier, just saw it tonight.
From an aesthetic point of view, I love it!
Of course, I’m the guy who painted a new blank yellow-ish and added fake “dings” (which you might consider doing, to make the duct tape really look legit).
The fact that some people get a little bent at the idea just makes it that much more appealing to me, haha. I think its way more classy than some of the “ghetto art” I see on some boards.
Trompe l’oeile is a branch of art that has long fascinated me. For that reason, I like the fake duct tape better than real. I would probably paint it on, or go with a lam. Plus, I agree that real tape would compromise the glass job. Come to think of it, I bet if you took a strip of 4 oz. cloth and cut it to the size of a duct tape patch and colored the resin the right shade of gray, it would look pretty convincing.
Pop artists like Roy Lichtenstein have taken popular images like comic book illustrations as inspiration for fine art, turning what we view as “art” on it’s ear, so to speak. Not everyone “gets it”, or appreciates his work, but its a legitimate form of art. I view creating a new board to look like a duct tape patched board in the same vein.
BTW I use duct tape for brief temporary patches and have never had a problem. I think the problems arise from leaving it on too long.
Huck, thanks for the support man! I’m glad you get what I am going for here. Looks like this is a polarizing idea, which I’m not all that unfamiliar with. Oh well, to each his own.
I’m defintely going to be giving this a shot, looks like a graphic on rice paper is going to be the best, but I like your idea of the gray tinted glass. I’ll have to give that a go and see how it turns out. It’s too bad that real tape will compromise the glass job. I’m too much of a perfectionist to be ok with that, but I really like the authenticity (and ease) of being able to slap on a small piece of tape. I guess we’ll just see what happens. I’ll be sure to post pictures of the tests and report back.
Thanks for everyone’s input, including the naysayers!
You know what else I think would be cool - a duct tape shaped light spot with darker yellow around it. I see that all the time on older boards - its an iconic look, like the ever popular faded jeans, lol!! This whole concept could take hipster to a new level.
