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Could anyone give me advise on a my Foils, They are starting to look dull and feel rough when rubbing your hand on them and I am sure that it would help performance if they were smooth and shiney.
I am considering painting them with a 2 pack paint and then, flattening them with wet n dry and then polishing them back to a good smooth shine.
Do you think I am going about this correctly ie is painting them a good idea?I do not know how to treat moulded glassfibre foils, but mine are strip laminated mahogany and painted white. The mahogany was coated in epoxy and then painted with many coats of two pack polyurethane applied with a foam mini roller, rubdown/cut back after two or three coats with 150/220/320 grit paper (wet or dry). When sufficient paint thickness has been built-up it is left to dry/harden for as long as possible (weeks if you can), then cut back through the grades of paper to 1200 grit or finer, then finish of with cutting/polishing compound. Pay attention to the edges and bevels. It has taken me a few years to achieve a really good even finish on my centreboard. If you are serious about racing, take care that the foils do not exceed the maximum thickness of 21mm.
Good luck.
Thanks for your reply, I think my foils are the moulded type so different to yours but having read your reply I dont think I can go far wrong this year by having a go at improving them by painting them.
If your foils are moulded then you can polish them with the marine equivalent of T-Cut that you might use on a car. Boat Rubbing contains a rather gentler abrasive than T-Cut that hopefully will not wear through the gel-coat.
You could start with a rub over using something like 600 Wet and Dry with a little washing-up liquid to make it nice and slippery, then 800 or 1000, finally rubbing compound on a good cotton cloth, old bed-sheets are good, turning and replacing the cloth when it has picked up the colour, finish with a good wax. Painting is the last resort.
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