Anyone ever tried a transparent dye half and half fin?
For example, yellow for half the layup and blue for the other half. Look at it head on and you see the two colors seperate on each side, look at it from the side and you see a green fin.
Wondering if it would look good or not.
um…
I don’t know if those photos showed for YOU, Kai ?
[they didn’t for me ??]
so just in case you didn’t see them either , here’s a shot of one of the [blue and yellow = green !] runners I made …hope this shows okay ??
cheers !
ben
Awesome info, I am so doing one this weekend.
good on ya !
please post a photo or two when finished …
I have since thinned down that runner in the photo , and when it is held up to the light , the blue becomes more apparent …
will yours be for plugs , or a glasson ?
cheers !
ben
And yeah, I can’t see those images either. I was disappointedly clicking on them and getting nothing before I responded and after I did I went back to check the thread and saw your pic.
When you look at that fin from the front can you see the blue as blue, or was there some mixing of the tint and pigment to really make it green all the time?
I hadn’t thought of pigment when I was toying with the idea.
After reading about your multiple layers I started thinking of multiple layers of tint, some combination that won’t turn into a brown from the side, not sure what yet, but when you foil it it might look super sweet to have 3 or more of the layers showing up seperate or in differing tones around the edges where you foiled it and having the mixed color in the center.
Thanks for the pic!
Probably for a plug/box. I don’t have anything to glass onto yet. I’m thinking I might see how much polyester I have left and maybe make an extra large panel so I could cut out a set of these fins… Might try a small test first.
I just got 3 gallons of RR epoxy today that I want to play with as well.
good stuff …
did you see my fin panel thread ?
that was the colour blue I used in this runner I just posted , too…
I might have another bash at one of these next time I’m up in hicksy’s shed .
The thing I would probably change next time would be less layers of pigment .
And also , a layer or two clear [not tint or pigment] between the different colours . It helps with clearer separation between the colours .
I need to find the shot of the fin panel , before I cut out the fins , as this shows fairly clearly the “borders” of the panel . [I also took a front-on shot of the fin in my ‘prawn’ board , which showed the three colours on the leading edge of the runner]. Hopefully I can find them , and if / when I do , I will post them here again .
I am STOKED someone else wants to try this !!
Since that thread is 18 months old …I WAS hoping someone else would post shots of their multi-coloured tint +pigment fins . (I’m SURE I am not the ONLY one here who has made these !!)
cheers Kai !
ben
“I need to find the shot of the fin panel , before I cut out the fins , as this shows fairly clearly the “borders” of the panel . [I also took a front-on shot of the fin in my ‘prawn’ board , which showed the three colours on the leading edge of the runner]”
alright …FOUND it !
here’s the panel , pre-cutout [notice the different colours around the edges …
and here’s after cutout and foiling , the ‘runner’ on my prawn board…
but , SEE how the yellow and ‘green’ [blue tint , and yellow PIGMENT , combining!] ''merged ", where there was no clear layer [?or two?] between the two colours ?
THAT’S why I think I will do a clear layer [or maybe a black , or a white, pigment] in between the colours next time…
hope this helps !
ben
…I can’t wait to see what you come up with , Kai ! cheers !
Well, I couldn’t post this in the last one , for some reason …
I hope that this ‘closer up’ [cropped, actually] view better shows the colours ‘merging’ …
ben
sparkles , fabric inlays , ?maybe even spraypainting the glass? [when wetted out …this last one I haven’t tried … yet]
…just some ideas I thought I’d add …
and , from a previous ‘fins’ photo thread , here’s one which is a blue tint , and a red tint , with white pigment in between …crisper colour separation[strike]
[/strike]
My last fin was clear with a fabric inlay, also had a panel I posted of yellow resin (not tinted, but cheap boat resin which is naturally yellow).
What about these ideas… Like yours, say a yellow pigment center but one side tinted red, the other side tinted blue. Then you’ve different colors on each side of the fin.
Or 5 layers, blue, yellow, clear yellow blue. When you foil it around the edge you’d have a clear band, a yellow band, and then a green center. I kept trying to think of 3 colors but I think you always end up with brown unless you use pigment in the middle like you did.
I’ve noticed an irredescent semi-gloss or matte on professional fins that I’d really like to know how they do. It’s not an irredescent glitter, I’m not sure what it is. I’ll look for an example tomorrow.
My last fin was clear with a fabric inlay, also had a panel I posted of yellow resin (not tinted, but cheap boat resin which is naturally yellow).
What about these ideas… Like yours, say a yellow pigment center but one side tinted red, the other side tinted blue. Then you’ve different colors on each side of the fin.
orange , yellow green …if you use ‘tint’ [translucent]…Red yellow blue , if you use pigment [opaque colours] , but maybe still put either a clear , or a white , or a black, pigment layer between each colour, to be sure of no ‘bleeding’ [‘merging’] of colours when you foil the fin[s].
Or 5 layers, blue, yellow, clear yellow blue. When you foil it around the edge you’d have a clear band, a yellow band, and then a green center. I kept trying to think of 3 colors but I think you always end up with brown unless you use pigment in the middle like you did.
I’ve noticed an irredescent semi-gloss or matte on professional fins that I’d really like to know how they do. It’s not an irredescent glitter, I’m not sure what it is. I’ll look for an example tomorrow.
my blue tint keels had that [not that my finish is ANYWHERE near professional , mind you !!] …I think it is in the wet and dry sanding and glossing that fins get their look …
"… I might see how much polyester I have left and maybe make an extra large panel so I could cut out a set of these fins… Might try a small test first. "
let me know how much you have , please …will you be making side fins ?
I think it was “fin photos” , the thread where I posted shots of a fair few of my [different coloured ] fibreglass fins …you might like to type that in the “advanced search” section , to the left of the discussion page…
I just got 3 gallons of RR epoxy today that I want to play with as well.
you will have a much longer time to play around with , doing it with epoxy . And less smell / ?toxicity? when foiling the finished panel .
…it just depends on if you want to wait around …
tip …if doing either , and doing three colours , especially if using polyester resin , get three or more rollers …one for each colour you’re applying . And a jar [with a screw lid] with acetone in it , for cleaning the rollers , and a toothbrush , for “scrubbing” the gunk out of the rollers , once the acetone has loosened up the gelled pigmented resin on the rollers …[I’m not sure WHAT you use for cleaning the rollers when using epoxy resin …anyone ??
cheers !
ben chipper
hi again Kai !
reading back on my original post back in 2004
" I was thinking of going 10 layers blue tint, 10 layers yellow pigment , then a further 10 layers blue tint again, approximately. [They’re for fcs, I’m using 5oz flatweave, in case anyone was wondering ]"
…I’m thinking I will still [at some stage ] use the same colours , but with ONE layer of yellow pigment in the middle of the panel , instead of the ten !
I’m thinking , that ‘should’ get more blue showing each side , and maybe just a green colour where the yellow and green merge . [May still put a clear layer between the yellow and green , though , to help prevent the colours ‘bleeding’.]
I wouldn’t mind doing a set of twin keels for my fcs tabbed fishes , but maybe just 28 or so layers of 6oz , instead of the forty my blue ones used …
…to be continued …
ben
…WHERE are the photos of OTHER’S multi-coloured homemade fins …halcyon ? blakestah ? lokbox ? …I’m SURE you guys have made some ??
…mind if we see them , please ??? cheers !
Wow! that was a good read!
I have treid spray painting the glass on some wood cores, it works good but just spray a FINE coat of paint.
Dark Blue, Light blue, white with a clear pinline on a fin would look AWESOME!
I think laying up glass is the best way of making fins. wood cores are time consuming, fiddly and even after that theres still the possibility of water making its way through.
resin swirl fins? from a laid up panel would be interesting too.
i personally think ply cores are a piece of wees
and stong as buggery and cheap to boot.
certainly not 50 dollars a fin
use good quality ply (i use an aircraft grade modelling ply )
and do em in a bag as per my tuki tuki thread
i did a vacuum pull with a bag from briscoes(used to store cloths)
u pull out the air with a vacuum cleaner and walk away
hi again Kai !
here’s a [maybe 20 layers clear] layup for the bottom layers , with [?maybe three or so ? layers of ] white pigment next , then [?maybe ten ?or so layers of] yellow tint , then a few more layers of clear on top of that …
(This was one of a twin fin set , that I cut off an old board I found at the local dump …)
cheers !
ben
I love that effect from the foil. I think that’s what I’m going to try only using dyes instead of pigment.
When you talked about leaving a clear layer between different colors was it for fear of the colors mixing while curing?
What if you were to wait for the previous layer to gel before going on? Wouldn’t be much mixing after gelling would there?
Still, might look cleaner with no mixing at all except for when it’s in the light.
hi mate !
I think it’s the foiling that also mixes the colours .
I vaguely remember it happening with pigment too ( but it has been a while since I did a multicoloured panel , so I’m testing the memory here , really !)
It might be time to make a pair of multicoloured twinnies for the fireball fish , methinks ?
My surf supplies guy has a pair in his warehouse , old rainbow-coloured ones , which look SENSATIONAL ! They have a really nice symmetrical foil on both of them [single foiled]. A LOT of work involved there , but the result looks well worth it , I reckon !
ben
p.s. - I’ll see if I can dig up a few more of my coloured fins photos for you , Kai !