Wet Foam?

sdhunter123

sdhunter123

Location
maryland
i finally started my footholds instal today.. when i began to scrape the foam out of the ski i noticed that the foam was wet... the side of the gunwales werent but it was wet right about where the bottom tray meets the gunwale...as i dug into it, it looks as though the foam is wet underneath the tray mostly... as i looked through some threads i see that SJ ( mine in a 90 SN) are notorious for wet foam... this is my first footholds install as well as will be my first turf job, etc... i was worried enough about get the holds and turf done properly, and now i am not sure what to do with this foam.. should i just continue with my install or what? would appreciate any advice.

thanx
steve
 
SJBrit

SJBrit

Extraordinary Alien
Location
Bradenton, FL
And don't worry: you don't need any extra skills to refoam than it takes to install footholds. All you need is quite a bit more time and a good deal of patience.
 
Fro Diesel

Fro Diesel

creative control
Location
Kzoo
Everyone is saying refoam, but i say UNFOAM...then use blue or pink polystyrene (won't absorb water) on the bottom half and two part foam for the sides.
 
djkorn1

djkorn1

kidkornfilms
Site Supporter
Location
Cleveland Ohio
SXR's come stock with polystyrene (although it is form fitted) and a drain plug, they actually have the back open right from the engine compartment, (I don't understand this, it must hold some water back there while you are riding...)
 
sdhunter123

sdhunter123

Location
maryland
damn thats what i thought i was going to have to do... i was hoping to hear that its not that big a deal, but i guess it is... well looks like it will be another couple weeks before i get on the water... when i was cuttin i looked at my buddy and was like " i hope i dont have wet foam" and sure enough... it all part of it though.. thanx for the advice
 
Penken

Penken

whoomp there it is!
Location
Umeå, Sweden
when i cut my tray to refoam. the grindingdisk sprayed water all-over the place. i thought i would have wet foam. removed the tray to reveal a puddle of water in a void between the foam. digging the foam out i discovered that my foam was completly dry. odd water inside but foam was completly dry. 90 square btw.
 
sdhunter123

sdhunter123

Location
maryland
i may be a lil in over my head with this...the desruction and defoaming is the easy part, but i am woried getting the tray glassed in properly and gettin everything back in good order. i have doen minimal glass work and dont want to destroy my ski before i even get it on the water... any threads on specifically glassing the tray back after
reafoam....it look as though i may go with the drains and...

Originally Posted by TURBO
Everyone is saying refoam, but i say UNFOAM...then use blue or pink polystyrene (won't absorb water) on the bottom half and two part foam for the sides.
 
Proformance1

Proformance1

Liquid Insanity
Site Supporter
Vendor Account
Location
New York Crew
It can be a good amount of work and a few bucks to do it correctly, but well worth the experience. If you are doing footholds you can do a refoam, no problem. Do you need to do it or not is the question. It's up to you, you may end up saving 10 lbs off the ski, but you could just go on a diet and save even more cash in the process for your next ski :woot:
 
SJBrit

SJBrit

Extraordinary Alien
Location
Bradenton, FL
sdhunter123 said:
i may be a lil in over my head with this...the desruction and defoaming is the easy part, but i am woried getting the tray glassed in properly and gettin everything back in good order. i have doen minimal glass work and dont want to destroy my ski before i even get it on the water... any threads on specifically glassing the tray back after
reafoam...
Click to expand...


  1. Make straight cuts when you pull the tray out: I use a 4" angle grinder with a cutting wheel.
  2. Putting the tray back in, I used some small 1" x 2" pieces of aluminum as brackets. I riveted them to the ski on the inside of the fiberglass where the tray is going to go back in. Then you can put the tray back down and it is held in place by those brackets. Rivet the tray to the brackets to hold it in place while you glass it back in.
  3. I went over the seems with a 6" strip of 1708 biax, then out another sheet of 1708 over the entire tray. I added more between the footholds for reinforcement.

When you are fiberglassing be sure to prep the surfaces well: rough up with 60 git or coarser, and then clean with a solvent. Don't forget to use epoxy resin, not polyester, and go ahead and invest in a wetting roller like this:

http://www.shopmaninc.com/fgrollers.html

You'll be glad you did!
 
sdhunter123

sdhunter123

Location
maryland
is there a way to defoam/refoam without cuttin the whole tray out? like i said my glassing skills are subpar and i feel like a may do more damage that good if i cut the whole thing out
 
SJBrit

SJBrit

Extraordinary Alien
Location
Bradenton, FL
sdhunter123 said:
is there a way to defoam/refoam without cuttin the whole tray out? like i said my glassing skills are subpar and i feel like a may do more damage that good if i cut the whole thing out
Click to expand...

Not really. You can cut out smaller sections and suffer the consequences of trying to remove foam through a bunch of small apertures, but you still have to seal them all back up and you still need to make them strong. Honestly, the best way is to bite the bullet and remove a big section of tray. This makes the defoaming a lot quicker and easier, and actually reduces the number of seams that you have to zip back up.
 
sdhunter123

sdhunter123

Location
maryland
after i remove all the foam should i glass the holds and the tray back in, them foam? or can i foam the inside, cut it down and glass over it. i was not planning on removing the motor but if i were to glass then refoam i assume i need to refoam from inside of the engine bay
 
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