Jump surface question

[LeonL]

This is kinda sacreligous on BOS, but here goes. Have any of you guys used some sort of paint as opposed to gelcoat on a jump surface? If so, what kind has been good?

[thompjs]

That is ok, it is not about Tricks

[addkerr]

@LeonL Iv used Rustoleum red matt paint. Is still like new after 2 seasons. Painted straight onto GRP surface.

[lpskier]

You can also get a red colored wax from Scot Ellis. It makes for a bright red surface. Last batch I bought was $60.

[The_MS]

Watch the red wax in the hot sun, ours ended up on the bottom of the ramp when it melted.

[paul]

we use endura EX-2C epoxy paint over fiberglass over plywood - bomb proof!

[Nando]

We've applied our own fiberglass over plywood with pretty good results but some say it will hold water in and rot the plywood. That MUST be waxed or it will really wear the ski bottoms. We've also used epoxy paint and it lasts well. Ed B. trained me to wax with a Coleman stove and paint rollers, then scrape it like waxing skis. Listen to MS and make sure it's high-temp wax. We've had that happen when trying to save a couple of bucks on wax but have never had it happen with Scot's.

[lottawatta]

I have repainted the surface in the past after repairs. I got a few ounces of coloring from the paint store and mixed two gallons of resin with the coloring in a big bucket. Make sure the coloring you get is good to go for resin. In my case, I like a blue jump surface. I get a baby food jar of both blue and white coloring and mix into the resin to get the shade I want. When the color looks good, I mix in the hardener and paint like crazy. Just make sure you have all the old wax off first!

[LeonL]

This question only addressed using actual paint instead of gelcoat/resin. Thanks for the suggestions. My concern about paint wasn't so much durability as much as whether it would be hard enough for a "fast" surface. Oh by the way, last year we used the "kit" from Scot and it melted and ran down to the waterline on a real hot day. I suppose I should use more carnuba and less parrafin? Doesn't carnuba have a higher melt point?

[ntx]

The problem with the wax "running down" has been a problem for many years. Scot at one point said that the formulation was changed for the hotter areas of the country. When we did ours last year, we told him we are in Texas and had no problem. We have never used the red dye.

[Moskier3ev]

Back when I skied at Lake Freddie in MO. We used to sand the surface and gel coat. It worked well.

At SMRR we did not have a problem with wax running but by adding more carnauba to the wax our jump wax gets white and flakey. Ugly but still fine.

 

My 2cents

 

Jeff Lindsey

 

 

[Edbrazil]

When you start adding Carnauba, which is one of the very hard and high melting point waxes,

you need to be careful about too much. Or, it will flake, as noted. Back On The Tour, I

started using a brew of about 1/3 each Paraffin, Carnauba, and Swix LF10. Not cheap,

but I can cite one major result at a pro event, where that brew may have made a difference.

[Nando]

This is a little off topic, but back in the day, '87 if I remember, our state association loaned our blue-surfaced jump (intended to avoid wax melting) to the pro tour. Sammy took one look at it and refused to jump until it was painted. I was away when this happened, but when I returned, there was Ed painting our blue surface red.

[Edbrazil]

Wow, I don't remember that, but I probably don't want to remember a lot of stressful situations

back On The Tour. Especially before the Tour had its own jump ramp and had to deal with all

sorts of local ramps, many of which had never been to 6 feet.

Sorry a bit off-topic here. Could go on nearly forever about dealing with ramps & surfaces.

Could have been worse: back pre-Tour around 1972, the ramp at a Montreal event had

a WHITE surface. Ricky McCormick jumped wearing sunglasses.

[lpskier]

Ricky often jumped wearing sunglasses, and a helmet, as I recall. Wayne was first with the helmet (I think his mom insisted), and Ricky was right behind him. Can't imagine the sunglasses being a good call in an out the front, but I can't recall ever seeing Ricky crash.

[Nando]

Ed, picture Lake Phalen in St. Paul, which was too big a lake in the first place, and where the wind was whipping to about 40 MPH by the time of the jump event. Also the place where they opened up a dam and the lake went down about 6" overnight and we had a 2/5 ball that was in maybe 2' of water. After you had me tighten up all the buoys, you pulled me through the course to see if it was still skiable. Because the wind hadn't come up yet, I had the best score of the day. KLP was watching and said he could see the tail of my ski rise up around that ball. It got dangerous when the wind came up- Geoff Carrington had a crash that destroyed his skis. This was just months before his accident.

[Nando]

This is off topic, but back in the day ('87, if I remember correctly) our state association loaned our jump to the pro tour. Sammy took one look at our blue surface (used to prevent wax melting) and refused to jump on it. I was away from the site when this happened, but when I returned, there was Eddie Brazil painting it red.

[JWebSki]

Getting ready to repair the jump ramp and have a few questions. When do you know it is time for a gel coat repair? Im seeing some fiberglass strands so I think that a pretty good indicator. Do I gel coat the entire surface? Does anyone have any advice on what brand gel coat or where I can buy it?

[EricKelley]

Interlux Perfection, 3 Quarts

[EricKelley]

 

[LeonL]

Be sure you get all the wax off first, and mix hardener carefully. Better a bit slower cure than too fast.

[Bruce_Butterfield]

@Eric Kelley I'm about to start maintenance on my ramp and was going to use gelcoat and thinking it would take about 5 gal. How does the interlux compare to other gelcoats? How much does it take to cover the surface - you said 3 qts???? How many coats? Did you apply with roller or spray? Is a primer recommended? What do you have over the seams between the fiberglass panels?

Thanks.

[Mateo_Vargas]

Also what's the part number on that color?

[sheskis7]

This is off the paint subject, it's about waxing. I found the type of wax that was used for years (no color) just plain wax. Buy it in a slab that will do a whole jump all you do is melt it and roll it on with a paint roller. It's super fast and it will not melt and it will last the whole season. Buy it at Lake Elmo Sports for $89.99 and it contains no carnauba. They sell mostly to show ski clubs.

[EricKelley]

@"Mateo Vargas" It is Rochelle Red Interlux perfection. Jamestown Marine Distributors are a good source.

@Bruce_Butterfield This paint is great roll on. There are 2 coats which is plenty. The paint is really thin and somewhat translucent. I did not use a primer but I did use an angle grinder and got all the old paint and wax off for sure! There was gel coat left on the old Mastercraft surface. This stuff sticks like crazy and is very tough. A roller will give a really smooth finish and it dries very rapidly. Only problem I had is that I did the final coat near dusk and had quite a few bugs get stuck. This suff will stick like crazy but will not fill in defects like gel coat.

I used marine tex between panels which works pretty well. If I was doing it today I would use West Systems Epoxy and chopped strand mat.

[EricKelley]

Even as a slalom skier you want to hit that! Jumps are too much work, they cut way down on slalom time.

[Bruce_Butterfield]

Thanks Eric! So was 3 qts enough for 2 coats? Just seems low compared to most paints.

[EricKelley]

Bruce, I would get 4 to make sure. The stuff is very thin and thats why it takes a low volume.

[eleeski]

Has anybody used red acetal (delrin) as the top surface? It's a tough bearing material plastic. Might last a while and need a lot less wax.

 

Eric

[Mateo_Vargas]

Wow @"Eric Kelley" that looks a little nicer than our ramp.

 

 

[Bruce_Butterfield]

Interlux Perfection works great. 4 qts for 2 coats on top of primer. I hope to never have to do it again:)

 

 

 

[tomme12]

Quick question, our ramp surface is plywood with some sort of epoxy over it and the plywood is gone. Thinking about a PVC sheets 5/8 to 3/4 thick all the way. It will require good flow of water over it, but basically indestructible from what I can tell. I have heard wood grain PVC is better (less friction) but the cost doubles for the surface. Thoughts? Thanks!