So Ithought Id share my results with John Greer’s “Aero Marine” epoxy resin. I just fiinshed 10 blanks and after using 3 other brands of epoxy, here are the results:
The wet out was incredible in my opinion, I used 16oz of resin on the bottom with 4oz E-cloth and ended up using 24oz on the deck with 6oz E-cloth on a 6’1 x 18 3/4 x 2 3/8. It took 4 hours to flip the board in 60 degree weather. John told me to add 20 minutes for every 10 degree rise in tempature. And had plenty of time to work with it ( 30+ minutes)
I ordered 15 gallons ( 10 gal 300/ epoxy and 5 gal 21/ hardener) on a Monday and received it via fed ex on Wednsday. Free shipping and total cost came to $550.00.
There was no odor at all, even when all ten boards were curing at the same time. Soap and water cleans it up. and not to mention i didnt have to deal with any hazmat or special shipping.
The hot coat was super clear non blushing and i was able to sand after 6 hours. Fin Boxes and Leash plug were both done the same day.
Gave a board to one of my riders yesterday and got the results back today: He said the board was super light (4 pounds) The board had great flex, No pressure dents ( in hollow overhead surf) and one of the best boards he had ever ridden.
total time to lam/glass/insatall/sand was 4 days.
personally i will only use this epoxy from now on. And i encourage all of you to at least try it out.
All in all i couldnt be happier with John’s epoxy. John Greer has got to be one of the nicest guys i have ever met. I know a few here on Sways pmd me about the results, so here they are.
I’ve used Aero Marine as well, and while I won’t gush about it like WSSC does, I will say that it’s a great epoxy for the price. I rode two Aero Marine boards in Hawaii earlier this month in some good sized surf, and it performed really well.
It’s not clear; however, it’s a “clear amber”, and that’s taken directly from the data sheet.
I’ve used it successfully in a much wider range of temp conditions than Resin Research, and found it to be much less finicky.
However, Resin Research is a clear white, which matters a great deal to many surfboard buyers. RR also has slightly better numbers. RR is a premium epoxy at a premium price. No mystery there.
As for yellowing, it will definitely yellow – that seems to be the fate of all epoxies.
John is a great guy to deal with. Super helpful and professional.
I’ll continue to use both epoxies as circumstances dictate.
To answer your questions, a super good friend of mine told me how good it was, so yep, i bought 15 gallons without trying it first. And the data sheet did say “clear amber” but looked super clear to me after the airbrushing, i am not comparing it to RR. i will post some pics of the boards when i figure out how to. And the WSSC stands for West Side Santa Cruz.
can you add resin tints to this without it affecting its strength? also, on his website which link on the left hand side takes me to the order page for the resin you are talking about? if it is the “casting resin link” how much should i order to fully glass one shortboard? also should i get the regular or the UV resistent?
I think tints will always reduce the strength of the final product somewhat – this is probably true with any type of resin, but I think the amount of strength loss is really small in most cases – does anyone have any data on this?
I’ve done a swirl with the 300/21 (the only type I’ve ever used) and it came out as good as my skill level could make it (which means it sucked, but it sucked through no fault of the resin).
I used this Resin on a big job that I did for a restaurant.I built 40 tables which were poured with silmar casting resin.After I got the tables poured to the thickness I wanted we hotcoated them using the same resin with wax added.I then sanded them to 220 grit with a super soft pad and glossed them with the Aero Epoxy.I laid it on real thick and walked it out just like glossing a board.After 10 minutes of flowout I went across the surface with a hot air gun to suck the bubbles up and out.They came out unreal with a glossy wet look.Why did I gloss with epoxy you say???..well it has a more durable surface and does not scratch as easy as polyester that has been machine polished.Funny thing is I found the resin on Ebay and told John Greer two years ago he ought to pursue the surfboard deal.Looks like it came out OK.
can you add resin tints to this without it affecting its strength? also, on his website which link on the left hand side takes me to the order page for the resin you are talking about? if it is the “casting resin link” how much should i order to fully glass one shortboard? also should i get the regular or the UV resistent?
On the main page just scroll down and you will see the products. I have never added tints so i could not say, but If you call jonh he can explain everything. I would however reccomend you NOT use any epoxy accelerators with Aero Marine, it makes the resin brittle. Chris.
how much should i order for a shortboard? did you order the UV resistent one?
It took me around 60 oz to do a whole board that was 6’1, with lam/glass/fins/leash. If i were you i would just pick up the 1.5 gallon. Or if that is too much for you, you can call jonh and tell him your situation and maybe he will sell you a half gallon. Now i know the 300/21 resin has a better UV resistance than most epoxys. I am not an epoxy pro, so for the technical questions i encourage you to talk to John himself at 877-342-8860. I hope this helps, Chris.
