Help with something similar to a gloss coat

Hello,

Tomorrow I’ll be sanding several boards. I put the hot coat on today.

After sanding, I want to apply a “gloss” coat (or whatever it might be called) with the same resin I’ve used to laminate and to hot coat. I hear that’s what gives Hawaiian-made boards their final surface termination (like Arakawa, Minami, T&C, etc; those are some of the boards sold in shops here in Puerto Rico).

Let me say this: I do not want a true gloss/ultra-polished finish; I just want to seal the little air pores that might be left from my shitty lamination, and of course make the board a little stronger and prettier.

The questions:

1-What proportions of waxol will I use on this final coat? Should I thin out the resin with acetone? Should I thin out the resin with styrene? (I am running very low on waxol and resin, and will need to be very exact.)

2-Should I wipe the board with a little acetone after I’m done with the sanding, before the final coat I’m asking about?

3-What steps can I take to minimize the weight that I’ll be adding to the surfboard with the final coat of resin I’m asking about?

 

Thanks in advance.

CS

     Howzit castrillo, OK sand the board a lot more than usual and if you hit the weave don't worry but don't go through it into the foam. wash the board with soap and water and just rehot coat it, you can add a little styene to thin it out but add more surfaing agent also to keep the wax content right and then this time sand it with 100,220,320 and 400, that shuld be enough but you can take it to 600 if you like. Then put some acrylic on it and knock that down with a green scrubber and that should do it. The pros use laquaer a lot but I just use acrylic thinner or acrylic sealer since they are basically the same thing. Aloha,Kokua

Hey Kokua, thanks for that.

What kind of acrylic, the one that comes in a spray-paint can?

Also, what is a green scrubber? Is it what I use to wash the greasy cooking pots?

Thanks again!

Kokua, another question: What can I do to help with the fiberglass itch? (Besides wearing long sleeves)

Another question: When we speak of lacquer in this context, what exactly is it?

Because a while ago I bought a gallon of lacquer, and I absoloutely do not know what to do with it…

Is it applied with a brush or with a paint gun?

Is it supposed to be mixed with something before applying it?

Is it a substitute for the finishing coat I asked about at the beginning of this conversation?

I have not used lacquer before. I’m sure you can tell.

Thanks again.

Either quit making surfboards (the itch will disappear in a matter of days) or keep making surfboards (the itch will still be here but you won’t notice it anymore -or not as much-).

And, yes, the green scrubber is what you use for cleaning up pots and the like.

As for the itch… this is the best trick I’ve ever learned.  Get yourself completely clean and dry anywhere you are itching.  Then take some duct tape and tear off about a 12" piece, and tape it to itself in a circle, sticky side out.  Make a few of those depending on how much of your body is itchy.  Put your hand in the circle and quickly dab the tape over the itchy areas.  Press hard enough so you make good skin contact, but not so hard or leave it on so long you end up ripping out all your arm hair (some will come out)  But it works like a champ.

Thanks for that. Fiberglass itch…

What about the acrylic and the lacquer?

Thanks.

I used to sand in the facotry that the Arakawas and T&c's came out of and they do not have a gloss coat. They either do a sanded hotcoat (shiny) or a spray finish (matte). The lamination has to be spot on as well as some other tricks during the hotcoat stage to be able to get a sanded hotcoat to come out like that. For what you are doing, just sand your hotcoat to 100 or 150 at the most, thin your resin and brush it on. No need to wash it or wipe it with acetone or anything like that - although you can if you want to.... The trick to getting the finish like theirs is a red or grey scotchbrite with some polish on it.

the acrylic i use is just plan ol floor wax i get it in gallon size jugs, to get the shine like the arakawa boards you want to sand up to 400 grit then you take a scotchbrite pad and rub the hole thing down then i pore the acrylic in a spray bottle and spray a few time on the board then with a clean damp rag wipe it all around as even as possible( be sure to wrap around the rails to get any drips, if you miss a drip and it hardens its a pain to nock it back down) wait until that side drise the flip the board and repet, when its all dry there might be little sits on the board from dust flying around so take some 400 or used 320 grite and lightly rub away then one more rub down with the scotchbright pad and your done 

YEAH!!

Thanks everyone.

Tomorrow’s gonna be the day for this.

I’ll let you know how it turns out.

       Howzit castrillo, It looks like the boys pretty much answered you questions but I will add something. First off you won't get any itch if you don't hit the fiberglass since it's the glass not the resin that causes the itch and even if you do hit the glass you probably won't stir up enough to cause an itch and just wash off with cold water if you do itch. I use an acrylic sealer in a gal plastic jug I get from Fiberglass Hi and not the spray krylon.The green scrubber are what we call rice pot scrubbers but over here I guess they are used for greasy pots and pans but that is the one and I buy the big ones from Ace Hardware and put them on my 6" ferro soft pad and use my grinder to knock it down after applying 3 coats on each side of the board. The laquer should be sprayed on and I don't know how many factories use it any more so the acrylic liquid wax is the way to go and Herb Spitzer knows the brand that works best,so you may have to pm him to get the brand name. Aloha,Kokua

Kokua,

I just bought a few cans of spray clear krylon-style acrylic. How exactly should I use this product for what I need?

Should I put a few lightly-sprayed coats on each side of the board?

How long should I let it dry before I put the rice-pot scrubber to it?

Thanks again!

      Howzit castrillo, Inever used the spray on new boards,just the liquid from Fiberglass Hi and used a sponge to apply it.I have used the Krylon spray on dings if there was any weave showing so that the glass would not wick water. I guess you can just spray it on the board but I can't say how it will come out. Did you buy gloss or matte finish but it probably doesn't matter now. I don't think the spray is water based like the stuff in the plastic gal bottle from F.H. so all I can do is wish you luck and let somebody else who has used the spray to step in and give you further advise. I think you should have got in touch with Herb and find out the name of the floor wax with acrylic he uses. Aloha,Kokua

do yourself a favor and do not use the krylon spray unless you are using it to seal up some artwork. you dont need to put any sealer on your board especially since you have a ‘gloss’ coat on it!

…hello man,

you are a bit confused,

you have different finishes on the boards

seems you want a sanded gloss finish, so you do not need those sprays, as Grasshopper say.

-sand the hot coat with no more finner than 100, do the details by hand and check everything is ok

then apply the gloss coat (resin)

After well cures, sand it with 120, 220, 320 and 400

clean a bit with rubbing compound and that s the basics

 

By the way, do you speak Spanish fluenty?

 

 

Hello,

Thanks everyone!

I’m gonna do as instructed, and just do the final hotcoat/gloss finish.

The spray is probably going back to Home Depot.

I’m making a run of 8 boards, and I’m doing 'em assembly-line style.

Today I spent the whole day installing FCS plugs, since I only have one set of jigs. Now all 8 are ready for sanding, which will be tomorrow.

Y si se~or, hablo el Espa~ol fluently. Especificamente el Spanglish boricua.

Cheers and Thanks!

C

I just got to sanding the first board last night.

(By the way, a little trick I learned from a local craftsman is to sand at night with artificial light, 'cause you can see the job much better than with the sunlight.)

I finished the board at 100 grit. It can be surfed as is right now.

I’ll filter my resin and apply the next coat, very thin. I like the way acetone thins out my resin.

After, I’ll sand with 120, 220, 320, and 400. Some rubbing compound. Alternately, I will try the rice pot scrubber to see how that works.

After that, if everything comes out OK, I will let the boards cure for at least 2 weeks before giving 'em a go.

Thanks again!

…ok man,

re check every thing is alright

check that all are flat and smooth

check for any pinholes

sand perfectly well the base of the fins

check for deep wheel marks near the fins, etc

thin the resin with styrene monomere not acetone

do not filter the resin, you ll leave some wax in the filter and possibly later problems

let the board post cure before sand the gloss

and skip the 120