Any idea what most of the pro shapers and glassing places (Merrick, DHD, JS, Mayhem, Glass Lab etc) are using to get their PU boards so white? Boards just seem to be getting whiter and whiter! Bgf Aerialite, Hexcel, Jps great white?? What’s the secret??
Not sure if this is correct or not but I thought they had some sort of spray for the blank if not pretty sure they would use Bright resin with just regular 4 oz glass.
Not sure if you’ve used it but the new Silmar 249B resin is brighter than 249A. It has a blue brightener mixed in and gives the new brighter USBlanks foam a brighter appearance than the standard 249A. Im not a pro but use it and without a doubt is brighter than standard A. Im guessing if you were to spray the blank with white acrylic it would be even better.
I started a thread like this one a while back after having a Super Brand board I bought used for one of my kids that has remained brighter white than any poly board I’ve ever seen. This board has been through hell and back for 4 years and had lengthy sun exposure but remains white.
Silmar 249B is the standard and isn’t new. It yad been around at least 5 or 6 years. BGF has always set the whiteness standard for cloth and Hexcel and JPS have followed suit with" Great White" etc. Arctic and Millennnium went white 1st and grudgingly US Blanks gave in after shops started complaining about boards turning yellow before they were even out the shop door. That’s it in a nut shell. Nothing special done by CI or any other manufacturer. There is a new Silmar Resin that is even clearer than 249B that is fortified with Acrylic. Remarkably clear or aka “Water White”. I’ll try to remember to post that info later. Smells Trippy too. Lowel
CI is almost exclusively UV Resin. I venture to say that UV comes out clearer than catalyzed Resin. Just an opinion based on having used all of the above. L
Hi Lowell -
When you say “went white” - did they start adding white pigment to the formula, or?
Every now and then I shape an old Clark blank. I shape outside and if I take a break and go back later, every swipe of the tool reveals whiter foam under what is already turning yellow… in the matter of an hour.
I think there’s an argument for spraying blanks white before glassing, especially the old formula foam. Not sure how the new guys are doing it though.
Lowel you suppose its because of the lack of MEKP in UV resin which might have a yellowing attribute?
I know for sure that Dhd buys there foam and equipment from South Coast foam. I also buy my equipment from there and yes my boards are pretty much as white as the pro boards I just buy the bright resin with their pro light blanks and they always turn out nice.
I’ve shaped outdoors and even if I have my shed door open I notice that the foam yellows almost immediately if hit by direct sunlight.
Brightener in resin, silmar blh or bb or new one 2880 with acrylic. Whiter foam or sprayed with polaire white acrylic. White fllash finish, it is acrylic sauce with brightener. Ended with a whiter than whiter board that turn a bit blue or purple in gray wether.
Currently testing different brsnds of foam for colour stability.
I will report back when Im done
Lowel - I’ll use uv resin (premixed gallons) for just the opposite reason - it comes with a heavy green hue and will leave rails and patches (almost) looking like vulan.
When you take normal resin and add the uv powder, it doesn’t go that green and doesn’t do that.
Lemat,
What is this “white flash finish” you speak of? Any more information on what it is or where to buy it?
Thanks!
Having worked in CI glass shop and lamenting 8000 plus boards there I can tell you they use UV 249A with ob (optical brightner) catalyst is added, jps cloths, 250ob for hot coats. All of which has been very common materials in production glass shops gor years. The Sylmar 2880 is great stuff . The bluing agent added to resin and foam creates an optical illusion. Blue over white makes whites appear to be brighter or pop as they say.
I had mixed results with the 2880 particularly when doing hot coats. did not have issues when lamming with it. I’ll stick with 249, myself. Are you saying that there is an OB catalyst? or that you used catalyst rather than UV mix? thanks!
Probably. And you can see the resin change color as you stir in the catalyst. But I have nothing scientific to base this on. Lowel
Good idea to spray white if it is really important that they stay that way. All the old blanks in the rafters (Clark, Walker, Echotech and the Chinese Walkers) should be sprayed. UsBlanks, Artic and Millenium are all pretty damned white to begin with. Brighteners are usually Blue or Violet. Maybe you notice the sort of Violet hue in Arctic and Millenium. But when shaped, glassed and exposed to Natural light or even surf shop Fluoro lighting they look bright white. I am assuming that the brighteners used these day have been developed by chemical companies for this specific purpose and are not just your everyday pigments.
No keith just a few cc of catalyst mekp is added so resin kicks under the logo lams where uv light does not penitrate . Yeah I just use the 2880 for lamination then 250 for hot coats. Great feed back from customers in my glass shop.
Don’t know. I use Silmar and mix my own.