Chipping and tearing topsheet

ovaltine123 · Post by **ovaltine123** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 6:10 pm

So i made some skis for my senior project this year and I used painted rice paper as my topsheet. We didnt use a clear protective coat so all thats on top of the ski is rice paper and a very thin layer of epoxy. I banged them together a little and they had already started to chip a little. I'm worried that after a day of skiing they are going to be torn to pieces. Is there a clear coat of some sort that I could put on to protect my skis?

skidesmond · Post by **skidesmond** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 6:27 pm

You can use more epoxy. I've also used Mirror Coat epoxy which is durable but very slow drying. Exterior poly is very good levels out nice. Not as durable oas Mirror Coat. Linear poly by system 3 probably the better of the 3 I've used. It's durable, but doesn't level out as evenly on oil based exterior poly. And there's lots of other coatings you can try.

MontuckyMadman · Post by **MontuckyMadman** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 7:16 pm

OMG!
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/show ... g-topsheet
WTF?

Sherpa Burns · Post by **Sherpa Burns** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 10:56 pm

MontuckyMadman wrote:OMG!
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/show ... g-topsheet
WTF?

That TGR thread is ridiculous. This should be Exhibit A on why this world is so frustrating.

Dtrain · Post by **Dtrain** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 7:22 am

Ill give the kid a little credit for gettin torn on so hard and still stayin active with the posts the whole way through and not loosin his cool!

TITS would have been sweet though!

ovaltine123 · Post by **ovaltine123** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 11:52 am

Sherpa Burns wrote:
MontuckyMadman wrote:OMG!

WTF?
That TGR thread is ridiculous. This should be Exhibit A on why this world is so frustrating.

Are you saying I'm ridiculous or TGR can be ridiculous?

ovaltine123 · Post by **ovaltine123** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 11:54 am

skidesmond wrote:You can use more epoxy. I've also used Mirror Coat epoxy which is durable but very slow drying. Exterior poly is very good levels out nice. Not as durable oas Mirror Coat. Linear poly by system 3 probably the better of the 3 I've used. It's durable, but doesn't level out as evenly on oil based exterior poly. And there's lots of other coatings you can try.

I asked a guy who helped me build my skis and he said that epoxy might just soak into the ski.

twizzstyle · Post by **twizzstyle** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 12:54 pm

Get some clear top sheet material from one of our normal suppliers (blankslateskis, skilab, or snowboardmaterials) and epoxy that on in your press. Done.

ovaltine123 · Post by **ovaltine123** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 2:08 pm

twizzstyle wrote:Get some clear top sheet material from one of our normal suppliers (blankslateskis, skilab, or snowboardmaterials) and epoxy that on in your press. Done.

Can I still do that if I've already cooked them?

falls · Post by **falls** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 4:30 pm

Yes you can
When you made the skis you must have soaked the rice paper in epoxy to get it to stick to the top, and now there is a thin layer of epoxy on top of the rice paper. This epoxy is cured and nothing is going to soak into it. It is hard and impermeable.
Your options are to either apply coats of polyurethane to the tops of the skis or to apply a plastic topsheet. For polyurethane I would sand the top of the skis gently with 300 grit paper to get better adhesion then apply several coats of either water based or oil based polyurethane (it doesn't matter now that the epoxy has cured).
For a clear topsheet sand the epoxy as above, blow off any dust this creates then use more epoxy to stick the plastic topsheet on. You will need to press the skis again and make sure they go in the mould exactly how they did the first time. When finished use a knife or prob a jigsaw again to trim the excess epoxy and topsheet then round the edges over by sanding either with an orbital sander or by hand.
If you didn't use heat pressing the skis there will be no effect on the strength of the skis. If you did use a heated cure it may affect the epoxy that has already cured, but plenty of people have done second heated presses on here without any problems.

Either that or as others have said round the edges of the topsheet over as it is now and go out and shred, then make another pair if they crap out....

ggardner90 · Post by **ggardner90** » Sun Mar 11, 2012 10:00 pm

here is what u need to do big guy.

Step 1 RIDE YOUR SKIS!!!! until you discover the problems with them
Step 2 purchase 5 shot glasses
Step 3 Glue purchased shot glasses to your ski
Step 4 fill glasses with alcohol and drink with friends
Step 5 Call miller studio, CODA, Snowboard materials and purchase sublimated graphics
Step 6 Build a new pair

skidesmond · Post by **skidesmond** » Mon Mar 12, 2012 4:36 am

ggardner90 wrote:here is what u need to do big guy.

Step 1 RIDE YOUR SKIS!!!! until you discover the problems with them
Step 2 purchase 5 shot glasses
Step 3 Glue purchased shot glasses to your ski
Step 4 fill glasses with alcohol and drink with friends
Step 5 Call miller studio, CODA, Snowboard materials and purchase sublimated graphics
Step 6 Build a new pair

Shotski - it's good to recycle old skis

g-ram · Post by **g-ram** » Wed Sep 11, 2013 3:32 pm

If you dont want to use a topsheet, put a layer of fiberglass veil overtop of your rice paper graphics. Its protects your graphics and is lighter, cheaper, and you dont have to worry about topsheet delam.

gozaimaas · Post by **gozaimaas** » Wed Sep 11, 2013 6:31 pm

ovaltine123 wrote: Are you saying I'm ridiculous or TGR can be ridiculous?

TGR is rediculous.
You built your own skis, half the cool kids on tgr that were ripping into you wouldnt even know where to start building their own.

goneskiing · Post by **goneskiing** » Fri Sep 13, 2013 2:04 pm

yep. I stopped reading that forum a little while ago. its a bunch of know it alls and "core" skiers trying to prove themselves. but, hey, they're super cool and all...

good for you for holding your own! I agree with the others. go tear those bad boys up on the slope, let them fall to pieces if they're gonna, mount up some glasses and drink up a new solution!!

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Chipping and tearing topsheet

Chipping and tearing topsheet