Just hotcoated the deck of my new longboard, and noticed that after it was completely dry, the hotcoat was not ultra-smooth like my past boards, but you could actually slightly feel the texture of the cloth through it…I’m thinking maybe it’s because I used some heavier Volan cloth??? I know I used PLENTY of hotcoat, I actually had tons left over. Looking at another board I have that is glassed with volan cloth, you can also feel the texture on it as well, and that’s underneath a gloss coat. Is that normal for heavier cloth or am I missing something? The actual hotcoat went smoothly and came out very even, I’m just not used to the textured feeling. Scared I’m going to sand into the weave on my first pass with sanpaper or something…Thanks.
Howzit tenover, I think what you see is like an illusion that happens sometimes, I’ve had the same experience. I doubt you sand into the weave even though it lokks like you will. As for weave showing in a gloss job, sounds like you may have heated up the board during the rubout. I’ve seen lots of polished boards with the same texture look and it’s because the rubout/polisher is being paid for piecework so they rush the job to do as many boards as possible. The down side is this also sets back the curing of the board. Aloha,Kokua
Thanks kokua…
The polished board I have, where you can see the weave, is a store bought board, and I’m sure you’re right about the piece-work…I’ll lightly sand my new board by hand and see what happens. I suppose I can always re-hotcoat it if I have to.
tenover, Keep a really wet cloth handy and wipe the board before applying compound to keep it cool when rubbing out. Aloha,Kokua
Will do, thanks for your help.
I agree with Kokua.Its more of a visual thing as the hotcoat shrinks when it cures.You see this with 6oz or heavier glass depending on the weave from the mill.Hotcoats over 4oz look glossy.You should have no problem.If you see weave patterns in the polish its because the surface got to hot from the wool buffing pad.We used to call this “transfer” and some shops did it on purpose because they liked the look. RB
Maybe another reason why Gene Cooper adds that outer layer of 4oz? I know that on every Cooperfish I’ve seen the gloss work is flawless.
Kokua- You were right on…Sanded it down with no problems. Thanks.
I spoke to soon…There were a few spots (4-5) on the deck, right at the lap line, where both layers ov glass must’ve lifted up a little bit from the ridge created by the lap. After sanding the board, these little bubbles opened up, and there is no glass underneath, just foam. These bubbles are about the size of a dime or smaller. Should I just inject some hotcoat resin in them and let it cure, or do I need to go the full route and patch each one up with some extra glass…?