OUTDOORS
Fig. M: When hot-coating, use long, light strokes to
spread the resin. A little extra pressure in the curve
of the deck will help keep resin from pooling there.
Fig. N: A dam of masking tape creates a nice sharp
MN
OP
edge in the tail. Fig. O: Drip resin around the leash plug,
wait awhile for bubbles to rise, then drip a little more
if needed. Fig. P: Your board will be strongest if you let
the epoxy cure 7 full days — if you can wait that long.
15. Hot-coat the board.
17. Install the leash plug.
“Hot coat” is shaper-speak for the second coat of
polyester resin, formulated to cure quicker, generating heat. Your epoxy hot coat won’t get hot, but
serves the same purpose: to smooth the board and
fill in the lamination texture.
Cut a 1¼" hole 3" deep in the deck, on the stringer
a few inches from the tail. Clean the hole so the
leash plug fits flush to the deck. Pour in a bit of
resin thickened with bamboo dust, place the plug,
and patiently drip resin around it to fill the gap
Lightly sand with 120-grit and remove dust. Mix
12oz of resin with double Additive F (2ml per ounce of
hardener). Paint the deck and rails, forcing resin into
the fabric texture. Go over it again lightly to spread
it evenly, letting the brush do the work (Figure M).
Scrape drips off the bottom, and let it cure.
(Figure O). Let it cure and sand it flush.
18. Gloss-coat the board (optional).
Paint a thin coat of resin mixed with double Additive
F, and let it cure. Sand with 320-grit and buff to a
mirror polish. Go surfing!
Flip the board, sand down drips, and remove dust.
Run masking tape around the rail just below the
centerline, to save the deck from drips. Around the
tail, add a resin dam of masking tape, sticking up;
this will make a nice sharp edge (Figure N). Now
paint the bottom and fins with 12oz of resin. Let it
set 2 hours, then pull off the drip tape and let it cure.
Keith Hammond is copy chief of MAKE.
Photograph by Sam Murphy (P)
Special thanks to Brian Gagliana at Greenlight Surfboard Supply for friendly advice and encouragement.
16. Sand the hot coat.
Sand the board well with 80-grit, then 120, on up to
220. A power sander is handy, but go easy. Use the
foam sanding pad on the rounded rails, and a hard
block on the sharp rails. Hand-sand the fins.
138 Make: Volume 19
Long Cord Storage My shop vac came with a very long cord, so I made a simple bracket from PVC pipe for wind- ing it up. If I wind it in a figure-eight pattern, it won’t be all twisted and tangled when I unwind it because the coils reverse as I wind it on. —Frank Ford, frets.com/homeshoptech Find more tools-n-tips at makezine.com/tnt.
