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Sanding my wing is safe?

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JoseTumaco
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Sanding my wing is safe?

Postby JoseTumaco » Tue Oct 26, 2021 2:14 am

I could say that it depends, so I better explain my case: 2 years foiling 3 days a week, 75 kg, since 6 six months ago I foil in Moses 679 wing, stab 483, 91 mast, Ocean Rodeo Roam 10m kite and normaly kitting in 8 to 12 knots wind.

I never had any injury with my foil, and only a couple of times I was near to it. So I can imagine it could be not so dangerous, but I will appreciate some advise:
I wached some videos about sanding, and understanding wich parts of the wings are the ones to sand.

1. My foil has never been sanded, I use it 6 months ago, so it is probably needing some sand.

2. Do you think I will notice a big change if I sand?

3. Do you think the risk is low or high?

Thanks for your advice :jump:

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Peter_Frank
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Re: Sanding my wing is safe?

Postby Peter_Frank » Tue Oct 26, 2021 2:10 pm

Not sure exactly what you seek?

The reason you sand is either to make it less glossy, so faster (presumably)
It can also be if you got a howling foil, sanding the trailing edge at the right spot can make it shut up.

If you want to make it less pointy so you dont cut yourself, you need to sand A LOT, and it might get significantly slower if you cut and round the tips.

Finally, if you ask because you have used it a lot, and it got scratches - just go sand them away :thumb:

You will most likely not be able to feel any difference, but scratches can be a mental thing you dont want :rollgrin:

8) Peter

Qiter
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Re: Sanding my wing is safe?

Postby Qiter » Tue Oct 26, 2021 7:08 pm

Sanding makes a BIG difference for the feel. I was surprised as I was skeptical as well in the beginning. It just feels smoother.
Give it a try, there is not much you can destroy by wet sanding it with 800grit paper (sand the mast from top to bottom and the wing from one wingtip to the other, i.e. both parts 90 degrees to the water flow)

JoseTumaco
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Re: Sanding my wing is safe?

Postby JoseTumaco » Tue Oct 26, 2021 10:35 pm

Qiter wrote:
Tue Oct 26, 2021 7:08 pm
Sanding makes a BIG difference for the feel. I was surprised as I was skeptical as well in the beginning. It just feels smoother.
Give it a try, there is not much you can destroy by wet sanding it with 800grit paper (sand the mast from top to bottom and the wing from one wingtip to the other, i.e. both parts 90 degrees to the water flow)
Thanks a lot, you understand my point, that is, will i feel a BIG difference sanding? you asked yes, but Peter thinks I will not notice almost any change, so I need more sugestions please, thanks a lot for answering.

Jose

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Re: Sanding my wing is safe?

Postby grandeand » Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:44 am


cor
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Re: Sanding my wing is safe?

Postby cor » Wed Oct 27, 2021 1:20 pm

JoseTumaco wrote:
Tue Oct 26, 2021 10:35 pm
Thanks a lot, you understand my point, that is, will i feel a BIG difference sanding? you asked yes, but Peter thinks I will not notice almost any change, so I need more sugestions please, thanks a lot for answering.

Jose
In my opinion it does make quite a difference. Not only does it reduce whistling, but it´s also less prone to stall (preventing air ventilations) which makes it more stable in higher speeds. The difference is very noticeable when racing or just before a jump when you "load" the foil with high speed and start to edge. However, if you are just cruising at lower speeds, the difference might not be that noticeable.

Foils that are not sanded have a much higher chance for flow separation (meaning that the foil will become unstable or in the worst case stall) when pressures are higher (meaning at higher speeds). To delay that separation, you need a "vortex generator" (by sanding) that creates a turbulent boundary layer which is less likely to separate from the laminar layer (the water).

I am sure all producers of foils know that as well, but of course a non-sanded, varnished foil just looks so much better to the customer.

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Re: Sanding my wing is safe?

Postby Michaelr123 » Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:08 pm

I tried out an 800 grit finish on my moses 800 wing and didn't care for the feel vs factory finish with scratches building up. I dry sanded it quick with 2000 grit before my last session and in my opinion I liked that a lot better. I need to do a proper wet sanding with the 2000 grit and try it a few more times to really make up my mind. I believe I've previously read that somewhere in between those two figures are what the pro's go with. The number 1200 comes to mind.

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Peter_Frank
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Re: Sanding my wing is safe?

Postby Peter_Frank » Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:56 pm

Aaah, okay, you were writing about never being injured, and risks - so I thought you were talking about making it less sharp and pointy.

But you want to sand it matte to be sure it is not "less performant".

There are no risks, just go ahead :thumb:

Either it will feel better, or no change - but there are no risks as said.

8) Peter
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derek440
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Re: Sanding my wing is safe?

Postby derek440 » Thu Oct 28, 2021 12:18 am

I sand my race foils and use a variety of paper but finish with 1200 or 1500 but different water needs different grit to be stable, fast and performant. I also tried sanding my moses onda surf foil but i just sanded the bottom surface so the top still looks nice, not sure it made any difference to the ride, maybe a little, it was ventilating quite a bit due to some scratches etc before I sanded it. I used 800 grit wet and dry paper on the moses.
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JoseTumaco
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Local Beach: Tumaco Colombia
Favorite Beaches: Colombia Santa Lucía
Colombia Cabo de la Vela
Style: Foil and TT
Gear: Soul 12m, Moses 679/600/550. Ozone Enduro 9 M. Dice 9m. Edge 11m. Hiperlink 12 M. TT 1.43.
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Re: Sanding my wing is safe?

Postby JoseTumaco » Thu Oct 28, 2021 4:26 am

Thanks to all, I appreciate a lot your sugestions, any other video that can guide me to sand?


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