Quick and dirty skin and frit for impatient imperfectionists

Excellent guide @glyphiks. It was fun finding out all the things I did wrong when I skinned my first deck :joy:

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Cheers dude.

My experience is based on practice and fucking shit up. Itā€™s no good to only share the successes, and far more value is added if you can share the failures.

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@glyphiks @rosco
Couple questions. These are my practice skinning decks, fabric ordered.
What would you use to encapsulate the wire channel? Epoxy/bondo? Iā€™ll tape the bottom hole so it doesnā€™t leak out.

For the insert holes, gut feeling says insert screws to desired depth, add some hot smoo for a buffer, then epoxy over top. Sound good? Any other ideas for a through hole insert is welcome.

Last thing, if I sand the edges raw, is 2k clear enough protection if I dont paint black? Or should I go with something more penatrative(like bill)?

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Answered my first question with the search functionā€¦ Epoxy it is, probably grab some Gflex since that deck is quite flexy.

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I used epoxy. And a west system filler powder in it to thicken it. The powder helps stop it run out of the channnel.

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Plan for insert holes sounds ok. Iā€™d wonder about trying to fill tops of the holes with hot glue a bit and then cover over that with epoxy and filler powder mixture before you skin it.? Try to smooth out any lumps from the inserts. I had some problems on my deck with a part that didnā€™t adhere well, so keeping the substrate consistent and clean over these would be a good idea.

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I use superglue when I first put the inserts in, i usually sand or score the top of the barrel nut head with sandpaper or cutoff wheel on the dremel, and if iā€™m feeling really fancy, i mix up epoxy with a thickener like fused silica or microspheres to fill over them before the first base coat epoxy. Iā€™ve also used bondo for that step.

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Aint this the gospel truth here.

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@glyphiks @rosco
Thank you guys for the priceless input.
I will do my damndest to not ask questions already in your tutorials/easily searchable/ESN frit thread.
I feel i have a good handle, but if I do need to ask something, Iā€™ll keep it between your threads so that future others can learn from it too.
Thanks again!

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All good bro. Iā€™ve only skinned a few decks myself. Just watched lots of videos and geeked out on it too. Happy to have helped. :+1:

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Iā€™m going to slow my build down just so I can let @PedroMcJimenez go first.

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I gotta get a few more things ordered, but its mainly Amazon stuff; brushes,mixing cups,sticks,sandpaper.

First gonna do a chunk of wood>vanguard >zealot>Sidekick. Wait if you want, I should be putting down fabric within 2 weeks.

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Damn it. Iā€™m too impatient for that wait. The last of my orders including fabric will be here Monday. Iā€™ll be chomping at the bit when I return from vacation next week.

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This is very true! I think I spent about 3 hrs on a couple decks.

I skipped the thickener step. Donā€™t be dumb like me, because youā€™ll need it anyway. Sanding resin sucks, as Al told me while laughing. I turned one step into 2, with an Amazon order in between.

This worked out, I put a little oil on the end of the screw to allow an easier release from the hot glue. I feel printing a little circle to place instead of hot glue may work better. May try that next time I have a through-hole insert to deal with. Though I shouldnā€™t have to deal with through holes unless I do another pre-built deck in the future. Sex-bolts FTW.


Thats where Iā€™m at, ready for full sanding of the decks.
Going to sand a couple small chunks of 2x4 as well, and basecoat them today. Iā€™ll use them as practice to get a hands on feel of the process.

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@glyphiks so from digital fabrics, are you printing onto ā€œchiffonā€ as your polyester ?

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Aerocorp

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So itā€™s about 75 bux for a 100x140cn and you can fit roughly 4 boards worth with a few cm left to hang over the edges?

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I generally only ever get 3 boards worth on there

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Is it ok to do a printed fabric layer, and a fiberglass/carbon layer on top?

Was thinking of having a design under some fiberglass weave to create some kind of depth and texture, but I donā€™t know if the layers would easily separate from one anotherā€¦ bad idea?

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Not a problem at all dude

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