I have a new board that is absorbing water. There are a million (probably literally) little bubbles in the glass job. I have ridden the board about twenty times. Now, in a couple spots, I can see yellowing. I was thinking of scuffing the area, and adding a thin layer of solarez. Will that do the trick? Unfortunately, I don’t want it to look home grown. Any suggestions? By the way, if you read the post about the 1100 dollar Tudor, then you will understand. I paid 300 for this shortboard new, custom made. Obviously you often get what you pay for.
are the tiny bubbles open “pinholes”? or bubbles enclosed in the glass?
next board… welcome to the asylum…give the board to an enthusiast,accept the cost of materials as a gesture of good will many can be happy and elevated amc
If the board is made with a polyurethane core, it will absorb some water but not a lot. It will probably last a fair while even with this defect. You could have someone gloss the bottom (you should not have any problems on the deck – just keep the wax on it. Glossing the bottom will add a lot of weight and a new cost. Just keep it, ride it, knowing its a beater and if it gets dinged you will not care. Just and FYI, this defect is generally caused by a manufacture whose glass shop is/was exposed to a damp environment. The blank was exposed to humid air – the laminate layers went down on top of it – and your board was doomed from there on out. The heating involved in each successive resin application kept forcing the damp air to the surface and making pin-holes (a bit different than air bubbles trapped in the glass)
Or it might have been caused from over catalization. Over cooking a batch of resin will cause air pin over the entire board. The chemical reaction of the board kicking too fast traps tiny gas bubbles that are embedded in the glass and or hot coat. It gets really apparent when you do a dark board sand out or polish.
the foam company may be having problems to cause the blow through issues. The lam might be the furthest thing causing the problems…
Ryan, I know there was the whole blow thru deal 10 years ago. But while that was going on, everyone was pressing the limit for how much catalyst they were using. When something goes wrong with urethane or resin, it effects a lot of people and red flags get thrown up everywhere. In most cases pin holes are caused by something the laminator is doing or something to do with the shop enviroment. Overall, Clark Foam as most urethane foams is a very inert substance, you could pretty much eat the stuff without getting sick. Personally, I wouldn’t worry about it.