MB Floats was first founded as a mail order, Brochure based supplier of Hand Turned Specials way back in 1993.
MB Canal Specials website, was also one of the front runners in the early days of online ordering 1998 and is still online today at www.mbcanalspecials.co.uk mainly for the hardcore canal match anglers. All balsa patterns there were 100% hand turned by myself. With many now available here as well.
Times are a changing!……..
MB Floats has joined the social networks…………
LAST UPDATE FOR CANAL SITE
2017 MB (Canal Specials) site will be hosted with MB Floats………
Canal Specials Since 1993
As I have many different finish’s, I shell simply explain by using mainly two examples below. One for my assembled cnc Profiled, Foam Carp/Silver patterns and one for my Hand Turned Special canal patterns.
All my finishing products are acrylic based with the exception of the sanding sealer I use for some of my balsa patterns.
With over 90 per cent of my canal patterns having fibre, carbon or cane tips, they are all generally all finished exactly the same. All the above patterns are brushed with Sanding seal and left for at least 90 minutes, they are then sanded down by hand on a open chuck, to take away any furring that can occur with soft balsa.
The stain is then applied in one very thinned down coat. This stain needs to be left for at least 12 hours but no more then 24 hours, otherwise the clear top finish which is also thinned considerably does not cross link (the stain and clear become one strong finish) with each other. These two products also work the same in reverse, i.e. in the case of my matt black finish, the clear goes on first I leave 12 hours then apply the matt black. This gives a more then suitable finish for a canal pattern when using elastics from grade 1 to 8. Without over finishing and upsetting the balance of the float.
The floats are then put on my dipping trays for the tips fluorescent. Which all are dipped matt brilliant white first. The floats are left on trays (generally over night) before re-dipping the red or yellow fluorescent. I generally leave over night and glue eye’s the following day.
My plastic and hollow tip canal patterns are finished the same, by hand (brush) but in most cases unless asked the bristles are not dipped.
I now treat all foams wether machined by myself or the HT range to a single base coat by brush (2 in the case of IG-F110) and then sand before colour or pretty pretty as I now tend to call all my finishes which are applied by brush also with clear top coat brushed before eyeing up. If using custom tips that I've made (cane or Hollow tube) or cut myself these would be dipped as balsa tips would be. I use various finishes both colour stains and opaque's not to mention the varnish/top coats applied .
