Ski Builders Forum

What type of dyes are being used to help avoid a "see through" base? I have some colored base material and do not want to see the edges, vds, and or wood core to show through.
Any help would be great as well as a supplier via the net?
I am using West Systems and the retailer doesn't' have much and doesn't offer much knowledge either.
Thanks,
RA

http://www.skibuilders.com/phpBB2/viewt ... flood+coat

Try this thread

You need to flood coat the base prior to layup. Pigment in the epoxy won't work, cause the edge teeth still end up right on the base material and will still show up. A white flood coat is probably best.

Thanks for the information! I did a little looking around on the net and found this article from West Systems about adding dye and how it effects the epoxy strength.
http://www.westsystem.com/ss/adding-pigments-to-epoxy/
Twizz, makes sense about edges showing through. What is your process of flood coating? Thickness that it is applied ect. I am guessing that you could apply the resin to the base, then cut the base and then apply the edges? On cutting the base will the resin chip off or is it pretty clean?
Unfortunately I have the edges attached already and will plan on using a black dye as I have black vds as well, so hopefully it will come out good.
RA

Chrismp swears by water-based acrylic paint. I have yet to try it, but will need to soon. On the latest pair I did the base was just slightly translucent, so I just sprayed it lightly with some flat white primer rattle can. The acrylic probably would have been a safer bet, but I was in a rush.

haha yep, a couple of coats of white water based acrylic works really well. just make sure its completely dry before layup.

Thanks Guys! Paint would be the easiest and pretty inexpensive too. I will be doing the dye for the top layer of glass to help bring out more color in my topsheets (Cotton).
RA
recent skis which show the base issue:

Ra, Just don't use latex based paint, it peels off pretty easy.
I bought some acrylic paints from a hobby store that seem to bond pretty good once they dry for a day or so. Just paint thin layers with a foam brush.
Haven't tried to tint my epoxy with it but for painting logos or flood coating your base should work alright.
Next time I mix up a batch I'll use some to tint and try some bonding tests.

sam

Do you guys flame the ptex before applying the acrylic paint?

nope, i just apply it to the side treated for bonding.

@rockaukum: wouldn't the white epoxy seep through the cotton fabric during pressing?[/quote]

Now that you mention it, I would think yes. How about this...
When I do my layup, (core up) I wet the core with resin then lay out the glass then wet it out. Next I lay out the topsheet (cotton) and put another coat of resin on it, pressing layer ect... So if I use a dye in the resin on the bottom = no problem on the top... if I use it on the core layer only then use just resin (no dye) on the glass layer and on the cotton top sheet. Do you think it would help hiding the tip spacer material? I have black and you see it through the cotton also.
thanks much for the insight!
RA

Paint the backside of your base and top of tip spacers white?
Just a thought.

sam

you could paint/stain the whole core and tipspacers white prior to layup.

i've resorted to printing my graphics on paper and coating the underside of the paper with acrylic paint in order to prevent seep through.

rockaukum wrote:So if I use a dye in the resin on the bottom = no problem on the top...

Do some testing before you do an entire layup and get disappointed! I think there's still a good chance it could bleed through.

I have a old pair of Atomic Surgar Daddies that they flood coated the bottom of the core with some kind of pigment and almost the whole base has delamanated. So how good is it to bond directly to a pigment coating? I think I would try to stain the core first.