After pressing, the board cools for 20 minutes or so at which time it is ready for finishing.

Initially Sean cuts off most of the unwanted fiberglass/epoxy. During the finishing process the top of the board is covered in a protective layer to avoid scratching.

The remaining unwanted material is then removed using more precision instruments.

The inserts are then drilled out, as they were previously covered by fiberglass and the boards topsheet.

At this stage you can still see the packing tape which originally held all the different P-Tex pieces together. Now that the base is fully bonded, this can now be removed during the base grind process.

       Sean spent a long time grinding the base to get it exactly flat. Donek boards use thermal balancing technology to reduce differences in expansion and contraction from the top to the bottom of the board. This allows boards to stay the same shape as when they were pressed by molding the boards camber instead of thermally inducing it. After the base grind, a generous coat of wax is applied. 

 Finally, the protective sheet is removed from the top of the board. Another Donek is born.

Just the small matter of payment and I'm ready to ride. To see the finished article, go to the next page.