seahorse said...
Can you elaborate a bit Goo Screw - is tooth paste a non water repelling cutting agent. Are you suggesting the wax in polish makes the fin shed water leading to earlier spin out? I guess it may make sense?
What about expanding on the sanding method - circular - straight? Do you put the fin in a vice?
Best method for filling nicks in the fin - got a big dent in my TM45 to fix!
I take it that the cheap no name brand tooth paste I use is just a cutting compound and does not leave a wax or water repelling coating.
The way I see it is that sanding with wet&dry or a cutting compound is "a microground finish" which means water sticks to it.
I tried Mr.Shean on the bottom of my speed board for a while and that really made the beads of water roll off - but I reckon it feels stickier in the glassy water.
I think the main reason people sand fins in a circular motion is to get an even finish in all directions.Then once it is a flowing even finish with no high or low spots you could give it a rub in the same direction as water flow with some heavy grit paper.
My best symmetric speed fin (a deboichet 22 upwind) looks like it was rubbed at the factory with something like 180 grit in direction of flow,I love this fin it works a treat.
When I fill scratches in my fins I use spray putty(masking it and keeping it as local as possible) because it is softer than the fin resin.Then using a fine grit sandpaper I try to sand as little as possible out of the oroiginal fin shape.
WARNING:I am a plumber not a fin shaping master craftsman,such as Mal Wright or Chris Lockwood,so my finish may end up noticeably rougher.
