I’m thinking about using epoxy resin for glassing one of my next boards. This would be my first time working with the stuff and I have got a few questions. First, how is the glassing process different from using traditional polyester resin. Are there still three coats (lamination, hot coat, glossing)? If there is a hot coat and a gloss coat, then what wax/sanding agents should be added to the resin to achieve the desired qualities. My friend at school is using a vaccuum bagging technique to laminate an airplane wing with carbon fiber and kevlar mat using epoxy resin. Is a similar method reccommended for surfboard glassing or a more traditional method? Also, what are the best (cost vs. quality) types of mat that can be used with epoxy resin? Anyway, if anyone has experience with epoxy or can refer me to some good documentation I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
Get a hold of Dave Colignon at Fiber Glass Hawaii 831-476-7464 in Santa Cruz. He can tell exactly what to do and how to do it. This is his business, he can also provide you with the materials. He can ship them or you can pick them up if you are in the area.
There are many who make epoxy boards. You can use a boat building epoxy that would require painting or a Clear Epoxy like SB-112. I would use SB-112 for clarity. One coat for laminating, then one coat for sanding. Same process as polyester without the need for wax. You could then finish with a Gloss Coat (polyester). See that link to Fiberglass Supply for instructions. http://www.fiberglasssupply.com/Product_Catalog/Epoxy/epoxy.html Excellent Tech Sheet on the process. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. http://www.fiberglasssupply.com/pdf/epoxy/SB-112_tds.pdf http://www.viser.net/~anthwind/
Gee, you could ask me. I’ve done a few. On laminating, the difference there is that there is no gel time. That means that you have ample time to work. Epoxies generally get thicker and thicker and eventually harden. Any epoxy you use that is UV stable will give you lots of work time on a surfboard laminate. When your laminating the main difference is the saturation stage. With polyester it’s necessary to force the resin through the cloth and into the foam. With epoxy you just move the resin around and let it soak in, then remove the excess. This is one of the most difficult concepts for polyester trained laminators to grasp. Also use a hard plastic squeegee. Their called spreaders and are available at any hardware store. These move epoxy resin better than a rubber squeegee. The next step is hot coating followed by glossing same as with standard boards. You asked about wax solution or surfacing agent. There is only one on the market, Resin Research Additive F, and, in my opinion, anyone making boards without it is putting in twice the work he needs to and isn’t seeing as good a finished product. Without it, realistically you can’t even do a gloss. And your hotcoats are probably going to fisheye as well. And the resin isn’t going to sand well either. Now remember, I am a bit slanted in my views since I formulated all Resin Research Epoxies and invented Additive F. If you’d like more info e-mail me at and I’ll be glad to help you in any way I can.
Greg Loehr has good laminating advice. One of the biggest problems for epoxy in surfboard application is discoloration in sunlight. Before glossing with ANY epoxy I would test it in sunlight for a couple weeks. I laminated a board with Raka boat epoxy and screwed it up. I threw the board into the sun and watched for 2 weeks while it turned brown. I mixed one part of the same Raka epoxy with 2 parts of some surfboard epoxy for a couple of boards. (I bought the surfboard epoxy bulk retail). I covered them with surfboard polyester resin. This mix went on mostly clear and resisted sunlight quite well. I used the System 3 SB-112 resin, and covered it with the same PE resin. System 3 was very expensive. It went on clear, but it’s yellowing pretty badly… NOT worth half what I paid! I’ve used DingAll epoxy from Surfsource.net on limited applications. It was cheap, but looks really good so far. Not really sure about vacuum bagging for epoxy laminating surfboards. Some of surfboard epoxy strength comes from hardened epoxy resin, and some strength comes from thickness of the laminate. Bagging removes resin and thins the laminate. You could bag it and add more glass. (Even epoxy is weaker than glass). But bagging is lots of trouble for a garage builder, and IMHO won’t gain enough in board performance to justify the added trouble and expense.
I shaped a board in 2000…Glassed it with SB112…Gloss was clear IMRON… Fast forward to 2003…Board is as clear as the day it was glossed… Minimal pressure dents near the tail(where I’m hardest on boards)… Conclusion…SB112 is awesome… Paul
Have either of you tried Greg Loehr’s product? It sounds good to me. I’ve only used WEST system epoxy (not as a surfboard laminate) and it worked great - predictable cure times, sandable and all that but it does get yellow in the sun. I’ve been thinking SB-112 but Greg’s sounds even better.
Most people using West Systems (probably bought at a West Marine store) are repairing boats or building them. Its good stuff but made to be painted over with Petit or some other high quality boat paint.
John… So far I’ve been happy with SB112, except for the cost… I get it from Fiberglass Supply in Bingen WA… I’d like to try Loehr’s epoxy… What’s the cost compared to SB112…???.. And what are the shipping charges…???..To Washington State Paul
Thanks to all for the input.
We are generally less expensive than others and I would like all to try it. Ours is the only epoxy made excusively for boards. With 20 years use in our shop I challenge anyone to match our products. Fact is no one is even close. Two resins, three hardeners and Additive F. All 2 to 1 ratios. All water white. All UV stable. All whith correct viscosity for what we make, boards. All the lowest toxcity you’ll find in a room temperature cure epoxy system. Shipping to the west coast is reasonable, UPS, and we will soon be shipping from the west coast as well. 321-779-2369