For all you perfectionists out there. You’ve been shaping a couple of hours and its been finish sponge screened. What tells you ok thats enough(quit lookin at it already)? Expecially when time is a factor?
For all you perfectionists out there. You’ve been shaping a couple of > hours and its been finish sponge screened. What tells you ok thats > enough(quit lookin at it already)? Expecially when time is a factor Except for placing the fins if you have sponge screening (which makes the board look nice but may not be necessary) you are done. All fine tuning should be done before you get that far into the finishing process. You don’t want to overshape which can happen real easy if you start going bach too many steps.
The cleaner you start out the less trouble you will have in the long run(this is true for glassing as well). It’s done when the shapers says so vs.Overshaping is a shapers worst enemy.Stay consistant,and use some kind of step system that fits your style of shaping.
Don’t be overly concerned with a perfect fine sand job at the expense of the design. There is an argument about fine sanding anyway. Some shapers say going no more than 80 grit will allow the glass to adhere better and not delam. Others say the less scratches the less resin used resulting in a lighter board. Personal preference, just like some shapers cut their rail bands on the deck before cutting in their bottom rail apex. aloha
For all you perfectionists out there. You’ve been shaping a couple of > hours and its been finish sponge screened. What tells you ok thats > enough(quit lookin at it already)? Expecially when time is a factor? If time is the factor, well you’re in the wrong field! The fine sand is what takes the least amount of time and removes the least foam. No fine sanding until the shape is “tuned”, why try to do final changes with a piece of #220. All the fine sand is for is to remove the scratches from the previous grade of paper. My stance on fine sanding is, the finer the finish, the tighter the cloth can lay against the foam. The less resin under the fabric, the better the adhesion. In a delam, it is the resin under the cloth that is breaking up. Resin is only the glue to attach the cloth to the board, not the material that is the strength. You have to look at each phase as an intrigal part of the finished product. A poorly finished blank results in a less that great glass job. I watch sanders quit as soon as the shine is gone, rather than re-sculpting the shape. Rather than put in 100%, 85% is good enough. I can’t see it from my house!!!
i’ve been finish screening with 180 screen and so far i haven’t had one delam or glass prob. it’s amazing how going from even the 120 to the 180 screen makes such a difference in how good the finished product looks and how easy it is to take care of any little shadows or whatever. i take a few passes top, bottom, and rails with the foam and go 80 to 100 to 120 then the 180 and its done.
i’ve been finish screening with 180 screen and so far i haven’t had one > delam or glass prob. it’s amazing how going from even the 120 to the 180 > screen makes such a difference in how good the finished product looks and > how easy it is to take care of any little shadows or whatever. i take a > few passes top, bottom, and rails with the foam and go 80 to 100 to 120 > then the 180 and its done. Interesting side note developing here. I have heard (not yet developed my own theory that you have better adhesion from a board with a slightly rougher finish. I know a few top shapers (that are very quality minded) that finish with 50 grit sand paper claiming better adhesion.
My personal theory is make the blank look as perfect as possible. I’ve never had a board delam due to doing too good a fine sand job. Whenever I see a board that has scratches or screen marks on the rails it tells me that the shaper didn’t care. I have a piece of 220 screen thats 5 years old that is really flimsey; PERFECT now for fine sanding rails, especially on boards with really thin noses. If you are learning I’d put a priority on the overall shape. If you have to keep scrubbing and scrubbing with fine grit you probably weren’t ready to fine sand the board yet.
If you are doing airbrushing,clean it up with some old screen or 320.If i’m doing tints I go 400 and finish it of with a piece of regular window screen.There’s nothing more nasty than a bunch of diggs&scratches coming through the glass job.
i can’t imagine stopping at 50 grit…but i’ve actually heard rusty can finish a board completely with just his planer…just hearsay of course…i’m sticking with the 180, the foam is so pourous by nature i can’t see adhesion really be a concern.h
i can’t imagine stopping at 50 grit…but i’ve actually heard rusty can > finish a board completely with just his planer…just hearsay of > course…i’m sticking with the 180, the foam is so pourous by nature i > can’t see adhesion really be a concern.h I tell you all right now, when it comes to wielding a planer, there ain’t noone that can shape a lick, who has watched me shape, can believe how far I take a board with my planers. It is no longer “bands”, it is a surfboard with a planerized texture. The rails are finished, concaves or vees are done, now it is sand out the blade chatter. The planer never lies it always tells the truth. Jim Phillips /40 years with a planer in my hand
I tell you all right now, when it comes to wielding a planer, there ain’t > noone that can shape a lick, who has watched me shape, can believe how far > I take a board with my planers. It is no longer “bands”, it is a > surfboard with a planerized texture. The rails are finished, concaves or > vees are done, now it is sand out the blade chatter. The planer never lies > it always tells the truth. Jim Phillips /40 years with a planer in my hand Thanks guys, I figured this question was food for thought. Now you 6-8 boards a day guys must really be focased(no customers buggin’, full energy, workaholic)arent the busy months coming up quick here?
Thanks guys, I figured this question was food for thought. Now you 6-8 > boards a day guys must really be focased(no customers buggin’, full > energy, workaholic)arent the busy months coming up quick here? I really liked the wives-tale about Rusty being able to finish a board with a planer. That is some funny stuff. Bruce Lee used to beat up 17 guys in a dark ally!! I guess there weren’t any Brazilian Jui Jitsu guys in the bunch!! Even machined boards are finished. When a guy planes the edge od a door)a flat surface) he rounds the shape edges with sandpaper. A shape is finished when the glasser finishes the lamination. Lots of raised eyebrows. You would be amazed at how many boards a laminator actually has to touch up-especially a the tail’s bottom edge. Lot of shapers are obssessed with a really sharp edge and forget cloth needs to be wrapped around it. A glasser hates to have to go bak and “dab” resin where airbubbles could have been avoided. Finished boards range from 40 grit to ???600 grit? 120 works fine for non air-brushed boards.