Guy wants me to shoot resin pins on a batch of boards. Whats the going rate (per pin) at glass shops? How about clear glosses (per side). These are all longboards.
Used to get $1 per pin and $1.50 side for glosses. 1970’s. Got $10 for handshape. Hell I was rich.
Cleanlines, resin pinlines are a lot of work. Between the taping, the color mixing, the application, and the finish sanding I charge at least $ 40.00. (One Color & a single line).Glosses go for about $15.00- $20.00 Both sides. (labor only).
Jim Phillips taught me a really cool trick for cleaning up resin pins. Take a razor blade and fold some 100 or 150 grit sandpaper over it and run it along the sides to clean it up. Works fantastic.(Thanks Jim) Also, use the slag resin that is thick. It doesn’t bleed as much. Cobalt helps too.
This board was for me. Brown resin pinline and a gloss. No Charge.
Good Luck,
Barry Snyder
Yea the sandpaper on the razorblade trick is something Jim showed me in the late 70’s. I showed it on the Master Glasser video and got a lot of positive feedback. I have done a lot of resin pins and can usually pull one off in about ten minutes max. Most of my boards have back to back dual colors. I never thought that $40 dollars was the going rate??? Thanks for the feedback.
Cleanlines, did you put down a black pin the do a wider white one over it? Then sand to expose the black one? I love it. What is that Burl looking panels on that longboard? That’s killer too!
Barry Snyder
All of the pins were done seperately. The T band (tri color) is kinda my trademark. I also call these “back to back”. the secret on back to back pins is pulling the tape where the colors meet after the resin has jelled hard. It giives you a thicker edge where you can do the razor blade/sandpaper trick.
On single pins I pull the tape when the resin is wet. The pin will “crown” kinda like the deck of a board. Makes less of a bump when you gloss it. All of this stuff is hard to explain but pretty easy if you were in the room watching.
The burl panels were done like this…
1) I taped of the foam and did a spray airbrush yellow tint. This is the background color on the panels.
2) After glassiing the board (clear)I sanded to 320 grit
3) Did resin pins around the border of the panels
4) taped off inside of the pins and sprayed mist coats of black and red lacquer (spray bombs from Auto Parts store)
5) Took acetone and splattered it over the lacquer wihich caused it to blend together in the abstract pattern.Giving the burl effect. (Furniture painters have been doing this for years in one form or another)
6) Sprayed clear acrylic over the abstract panel the next day.
7.) pulled the tape…scuffed the panel with red scotchbrite and glossed with reichold gloss resin. (Silmar takes to long to jell and may react with the acrylic)
Sounds like a bitch but not that bad. The burl board in the pic is hanging on the wall in some Japanese guys office.
(The other thin black pins are ink done with a rapidgraph pen using some of those green plastic archtects templates as guides.)
have fun RB
Any other feedback on what glass shops are charging for resin pins???
First pin $20, additional $10 each. Gloss is $40 on average.
Interesting red 6 fin fish.
Just a heads up some of your website is busted and returns a 404 error.
Notably on the boards link and the win a free t-shirt.
I take XXXL by the way = )
Gloss resin....is sanding and buffing part of that price? If not, how much does that cost?
So...my question is.....If I have a 7 foot surfboard...sanded with 100 grit (or whatever the gloss guy needs)....How much does it cost to apply gloss resin and sand and buff it? Both sides...total price...ready to give to the customer ????
Gloss, Wet’n’Dry, Rubout and Polish. It’s all one process and usually done by the same guy from start to finish. Although if it’s convenient a laminator or hotcoater may do the brushout and pass it on from there to the polisher. The most time consuming, easiest to screw up and lowest paying piece work in the Glass Shop.
I was taught to polish by a guy in Melbourne Fla. named “Beef…The King of Shine”. I asked him to teach me but he refused (even though I was in my 50’s and only building a few boards in another state).
I came back and threw down a hundred dollar bill/case of Heineken/ something illegal… and he agreed!. His method works unreal.
point being is that he got $20 to do a longboard back then. Mid 90’s. I wonder if beef is still around. He polished for everyone.
Some things never change!
yep Sam… bribery has always been in the mix. In the early seventies I paid a Hawaiian glasser a bag of herb/plate lunch/ and tank of gas for lessons on doing deep cherry red opaque lams. It was driving me crazy. came to find out I had to use 5 times as much pigment (almost unbelievable) with a touch of black.
I am currently accepting bribes. hit me up if you need something.
…I do not charge anything for all types of pinlines. Less money in the moment but a very happy customer that will be going back for another board in a no distant future.
Here s some:
Cool!! Do you throw in a ftn, leash and a bar of wax too?? No wonder you’re always cryin’ about not making any money in this biz.
Cleanlines, I remember the days when that was how you got anything done in this business. Those were the days huh?
Someone once told me surfboard building requires two things, Beer and Weed!
I would love to talk surfboards with you someday. That technique on the Burl look sounds intriguing. I love that stuff!
Barry Snyder
I am seeing a big comeback of hot rod type pinlines being done with long quill brushes. it was almost a lost art.
Reverb…I was told that in order for this method to work you had to use oil base paints (One Shot ) in order for it to work??? I can buy those pinline brushes and One Shot Bulletin paint for my local auto paint shop. is this what you guys are using?? Austin in Virginia was doing em also and I think Moonlight Glassing.
Hey Cleanlines, I love your work and have watched the Master Glassing DVD over and again. Just out of curiosity, how wide is your average pin line? I’m about to put one around this little baby…
[img_assist|nid=1072735|title=Seadragon Fish|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=478|height=640]
…which is for my first paying customer EVER, and I want it to be as close to perfect as possible (not that close, if I’m honest).
Usually around 1/8"inch or so. A good beginner trick is to buy some auto pinstripe tape as a spacer.
Lay down pencil line with rail tool
lay down first layer of tape following pencil line
3)lay down pinstripe tape butting to inside edge of 1st tape line.
lay down last tape line butting to other side pinstripe tape
pull up pinstripe tape and you should have an even gap between tapes
do pinline
A good beginner trick is to buy some auto pinstripe tape as a spacer.
Well… I guess that makes me a beginner.
To add to that, I’ll use a colored pencil… the closest color I can find to the pinline. and just make a few light dashes using the rail tool, just to get the spacing in from the rail apex even all the way around the board… Then I’ll sort of freehand lay down the 1/8" tape (I just use cheap skinny tape, not pinstripe tape) along the dashes, eyeballing a smooth curve. Once it’s down, you can step back and see exactly what your pin’s gonna look like, and correct anything that needs addressing. Then I’ll butt good tape along the inside and outside edges of the skinny tape, then pull that to give me a perfect width pin. I find that doing it this way lets me get better symmetry at the nose and tail points, where I like to flair the width of the pin to get that arrowhead look - I can use the skinny tape to help me eyeball the space between the good tape and the skinny tape for an even flair on either side of the point… if that makes sense.
…hello Cleanlines,
the thing with oil based stuff is that the line dry instantly and that s good, but has drawbacks with the gloss coats.
One shot is the less complicated one.
In these pictures all are water based but with a hairdryer in the other hand to dry the lines.
You can use mixed techniques with dagger brushes and other tools.
–Mcding,
seems that you do not know too much about keeping a shop business alive and treat with the customers.
For a customer in every field, included me, you, it s very satisfying to make a deal that is not all money, or that is treated like a friend.
You know, it s like going to a pop/mom bakery for years and they put another croissant not included in the final price. Its good man, you feel that you are not a number or an order in this case.
May be is difficult to understand for you, cause seems that you are so cheap that you cannot leave a wax without charge (and I do not throw away wax or any gear).
May be you do not understand too that is a normal practice have better prices for local rippers. If you go to a beach and you see most boards from a local brand and the local rippers use them, well, that s is instantly more orders.
My boards are in the high price range, so it s ok for me to not charge for that added work; because as previously mentioned, the customers always come back and if you do pure math: another new or more than one new high price range board is more money than 50 bucks more in a board and a satisfied client that leave with the feeling that can have a “good” (fair) deal with a shaper, that normally becomes HIS shaper (in this turmoil time)
