Be sure to copy this

need 4 speed

Phil Edwards status
Nov 1, 2003
6,676
3,579
113
SoCal
I do mine a little different, maybe I should make a video
a lot of people on social media have been asking me how I do it :roflmao:
 

Mr J

Michael Peterson status
Aug 18, 2003
2,250
1,454
113
Regional Vic, Australia
GromsDad, I am currently going through my notes and some glassing videos to refresh myself on the process. Due to the infrequency of which I glass I am at permanent noob dexterity although think I have a reasonable variation of the technique for my level of skills.

I couldn't see anything fundamentally wrong with the technique in that vid - am I missing something? Glassing the second layer separately is not usual, but not actually bad for the finished product is it?

If I am to be critical, I didn't get confidence that he had evenly spread out the resin over the main body of the deck and he did accidentally scrape out some fibre strings when he puts one hand underneath the lap and pull the squeegee over it. However I do tend to use one hand under the lap, because I can never get the pour one line and saturate the lap in one swoop of the squeegee to work properly - I end up with too much resin on the floor and missed patches on the lap.

The swallow tail scissor cuts looked like it wasn't going to get a complete coverage of the tail tips, but maybe it worked out ok, I don't know. I have also been shown to not to wrap from the middle of the board right to the tail end i.e before reaching the tail end, do the last bit of rail from tail end. That worked for him because the outline curve on a swallow tail is straighter.

How do you wet and wrap the laps?
 

JBerry

Billy Hamilton status
Dec 8, 2017
1,602
872
113
I've done it all kids of ways.
When glassing the deck, you can wet out the 1st layer, then pull and cut the top layer. Leave a dollop of resin on the center of the deck. As it is getting cut and pulled, the resin for the bottom layer is soaking it upwards, so when you finally glass the top layer and wrap the rails, it is already partially wetted out. Faster wet out, higher weight ratio finished, but kinda takes longer, you have to take off your gloves to cut top glass, or not.
Also, when using UV resin, used to wet out laps using a 3" short nap roller. Finish it off with a squeegee clean up. Worked pretty well! Never catalized the UV resin so didn't have to worry about tool clean up as much.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr J

Mr J

Michael Peterson status
Aug 18, 2003
2,250
1,454
113
Regional Vic, Australia
..Also, when using UV resin, used to wet out laps using a 3" short nap roller. Finish it off with a squeegee clean up. Worked pretty well! ...
Thanks! I like the sound of the roller for wetting laps - will suit my skill levels, also I have successfully used a little roller before to even out resin on the main body of the deck.

Just like you mentioned I have been doing the 2 deck layers in separate wet-outs. Squeegee a thin layer on bare foam. Roll out the cloth and cut to apex. Add extra resin and squeegee as needed. Roll out the top layer and cut with full lap. Like you said higher glass to resin ratio, takes longer (but no catalyst time pressure) and again suits my level of expertise (or rather lack of) with the squeegee - I don't need to be good at all that repeated pouring and dexterous pulling out that is needed to get resin through multiple layers of cloth. Gloves stay on for the scissor cuts.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JBerry

GromsDad

Duke status
Jan 21, 2014
54,175
16,181
113
West of the Atlantic. East of the ICW.
MJ: Don't do them as separate layers and don't lay down resin on the bare foam before laying down your cloth. That is a recipe for disaster.

Here is the long answer.

Lay out your first layer of cloth making sure that the threads of the cloth are perfectly aligned with the stringer. You don't want your cloth skewed even the slightest. To be sure the cloth is in alignment press your finger on the cloth on the stringer at the center of the board with one hand. With your other grab a couple of fibers at the tip of the nose and pull gently. If you are aligned you will feel that you are pulling the exact same threads. Adjust cloth position as needed. Now do the same thing for the tail. Sight down the cloth to make sure your longitudinal fibers are running in a strait line as well........they should not be curved or wavy. (Pros work off of a wall mounted roll which is much more accurate than the back yarder working with a few yards wrapped around a tube) Make any slight adjustments to the cloth you need to make before proceeding. Now working from the center of the board smooth the cloth out first lengthwise and then towards the rails.......kind of hard to explain in writing.......basically smoothing the cloth to conform to the curves of the board. Now cut the cloth to size. Then lay out your top layer the exact same way and cut this layer to the outline you want for your laps. The effort you put in laying out the cloth and being sure the fibers are sitting right before you cut the cloth is key to how the rest of the process goes and the quality of your results. Having the right shears for the job of cutting the cloth is a game changer by the way. Clean cuts mean far fewer threads pull off.

Your first resin pour and pull is critical. Work from the center towards the tail with a long pour and gentle pressure. You're just evenly spreading resin now. Now go back to the center and do the same towards the nose. When you are working the resin you do not want the cloth to move around. I'll then make a squeegee pass from center to nose and tail with more pressure basically anchoring the cloth in place so it doesn't move for the rest of the glassing process. Proceed with more resin wetting out and pulling out in long strokes working lengthwise. I mostly do everything from the center out to the nose and tail but some go full nose to tail. Center out works best for me.

Regarding that video and rails: Long pours, long strokes. Don't piddle around with working resin in small spots. Get the resin dispersed evenly and then pull the excess out with long even pressure strokes working first from the center to the nose and tail and then finish up with full passes working from nose to tail. Do not pull the excess resin out stringer to rail. Don't wet your rails out one squeegee width at a time like that guy was doing. Make a nice even waterfall so its all wet out quickly and evenly. For the past few years after watching a video by one of the masters I've followed his method for wetting out the rails particularly on the deck side...........On the deck side I fold the rail edges of the top layer of cloth up onto the deck and wet those out with a gloved hand and then carefully flip the cloth back over and then lap the rails with a gloved hand and squeegee with long strokes. Again working from the center out and finishing with a final pass from nose to tail. How quickly I have the board laminated improved a lot after switching to this method which is important when it gets hot in my shed in the summer. I'm not a pro, I'm just a trial and error self taught backyarder who has been at it for 32 years accumulating knowledge and techniques along the way.

Some real gems can be found on this youTube channel. Wish this had existed 32 years ago: https://www.youtube.com/user/fiberglasshawaiiTV/videos
 
Last edited:

JBerry

Billy Hamilton status
Dec 8, 2017
1,602
872
113
wow grom that is a reasonable explanation. I agree with don't wet out the foam prior to glassing cloth, but its certainly fine to glass the bottom layer first.

we need to have an erbb glass off...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr J

Mr J

Michael Peterson status
Aug 18, 2003
2,250
1,454
113
Regional Vic, Australia
thanks for that detailed explanation GromsDad, much appreciated. I am going to try your work from middle to one end method - I like the idea of dividing up the board into two halves - there is a video somewhere - I think fiberglass Florida where the presenter divides the board up into quarters - however it is a longboard. I shall be doing a small performance shortboard, so dividing up into halves makes sense
 

JBerry

Billy Hamilton status
Dec 8, 2017
1,602
872
113
Mr J why not video your glassing session and give us all a looksie?
 

ULUSURFER

Gerry Lopez status
Jan 2, 2007
1,199
659
113
Australia
Visit site
I'm going to add a painfully bad glassing video to this thread. Good grief. I don't get why people who so clearly don't know what they are doing post how-to videos. Willing to bet this guy has glassed no more than 3 boards in his life.

hahaha i actually know this guy! never seen his boards since he started shaping. He is a QS level ripper who has an autoimmune disease and cant surf that often so he shapes boards now.

He built a workshop on north straddie.

I believe that might have been his first resin swirl. I dont know how to glass so i cant critique his glassing at all

All i know is he is a nice guy and a ripper!
 
  • Like
Reactions: urchined and Mr J