Epoxy nose rider

General Discussion
1

Hi everybody,

I’m pretty new here but I allready learned a lot reading all of you. I’ve shaped my 19th surfboard and glassed my 2nd. I’m really thinking of the epoxy thing for two main reason, the environemental aspect and the f…g acetone one (wich is also environemental, can you really clean your brushes and squeeges with citrus based soap??!). Anyway I’m not here to talked about that, there is still plenty of discussions that I have to read before to have my own opinion.

In fact I’m about to shape myself a new surfboard for this summer and I will probably do it with epoxy to test the product. I also want to make myself and to share with my friends a classic noserider and I was wondering if the epoxy resins would suit this kind of shape and ride. I’ve allready know many subject about the different constructions (poly + epoxy, PSE + epoxy etc…) and the different mechanics aspect (stiffness/lively, buyancy?? etc…) but I didn’t find anyone who had build a classic longboard with epoxy resins.

Does anyone remember a topic or made a board like that?

Thanks a lot, have a good week end everyone and sorry for my french accent :wink:

2

Poly blank, epoxy resin, and last 3 pics, eps blank, epoxy resin…

(Not a classic noserider per se)

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3

Wow nice. Love the last picture and the asymetric style. How do they feel?

I was looking at all the classic builder in the buisiness and I can’t find anyone doing it with epoxy and I can’t believe that it’s because it wouldn’t work. I’m pretty sure it’s just because thay are used to a technique and that their business is working. Usually those kind of shape comes with beautifull tint but it looks possible to do them with epoxy. 

 

4

I don’t know about who might be building this way, but I recall in a recent thread (on basalt) Icc quoted Clint Preisendorfer saying that epoxy resin with s-cloth over a polyurethane blank is Rusty Surfboards’ standard for best practise on big wave boards, or something to that effect. Said it offered the best combination of strength and good feel underfoot.

The boards don’t feel or ride noticeably different from a polyester resin glass job, but the glass doesn’t seem to be as brittle.

I think boards glassed with epoxy don’t polish up as glossy as poly resin, and since the resin costs more, that may be why most builders are still offering poly resin as their standard for off the rack.

The only one that actually “feels” a little different to me, is the one that is shaped with eps and glassed with epoxy.  That board was very light, and I added extra layers of glass to bring the weight up to a more comfortable level for me.  It still has a bit more buoyant feel, which does not bother me at all.

I have been accused of being a “cruiser” type surfer, which is not untrue.  I’m 64, with an arthritic /  prosthetic hip, and I typically surf crowded So. Cal. point breaks, so I don’t really have the option to push performance the way I would in different circumstances. So there may be others who could give better feedback on performance, but I have a hard time believing there is any discernable difference from the resin alone.

I find the boards last very well, as long as I keep up on ding repair.  I had a thread where I discussed my ding maintenance.

There are other good threads on the benefits of glassing with epoxy resin. Its all I use, but I have only built about 2 dozen boards, all for myself.  So I’m no expert, just a backyard hack having fun. Cleanup with white vinegar or denatured alcohol.

 

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5

The Soap thing is just a pain… You let it cure and just break it off the Squeege… Way easier…

 

I dont know any thread, but i know a couple of people who did expoxy longboards, no problems i guess.

 

Im going to do one as well soon. Epoxy, XPS and Cork. Only got the stringer done up till now, need to finish my new shaping rack and get some foam first :slight_smile:

6

All right. Thanks for your advices. I note for white vinagar. You’re just confirming what I’m reading everywhere. I’ll for it for the next board. 

I’m co working in a big hangar and when I lam or hot coat I always need to wait that my mate are out. Also I don’t have a real option for a vacuum. What about the smell, is it really better than with poly?

7

Definitely less smell than with poly. 

Don’t try to re-use brushes; just buy cheap disposables and use them once.  (I know it’s not considered “green” to throw away brushes after one use, but it’s more green than redoing your fill-coat multiple times because of contaminated brushes).

Epoxy is a little tougher to sand smooth than poly, but no big deal.  Tougher to polish if that matters to you.

If everything else is the same (poly blank and amount of glass), using epoxy will not make a noticeable difference in the way your board rides.

8

Surely… I glass in the garage, just a slight acrylic smell…

+1 on throwing away the brushes, get one of these foam brushes where you just change the heads…

You dont need vacuum for a normal layup, handwork will be fine…

9

There’s a bit of info on all of this in the archives, but just a couple of thoughts.

EPS blanks are available in different densities - between that, the stringer(s) you choose, and the glass schedule you control the weight, the flex, the inertia, and the strength. No reason you can’t make a perfectly functional noserider out of eps/epoxy. Been there, done that, no complaints. Just think it through so that your shape and construction corresond to what you’re trying to achieve in the board.

For the finish, I like to do my laminations and hotcoat over just a couple of days so that there is real bonding between the layers. If you have a clean lamination, sanding is a no brainer, just like for poly. Wait until the resin is hard, at least 48 hours in most cases, if you don’t want to gum up your paper.

Epoxy gloss is achievable. I never understood the fuss. You mix in a bit of alcohol if you’d like, have your resin nice and warm, and it’ll lay down nicely. Be careful of when you pull your tape so as to avoid drips or sags from an early pull, or a hardened mess of expoxied tape if you wait too long.

Oh, and invest ten bucks in a digital scale. You can dose to the gram and make sure that your surfaces harden as they should. I think a lot of people’s issues with epoxy come from volume dosing, which means changing containers, rough approximations, etc…

If you sanding was decent, and your gloss lays out well, you should be able to go 320, 400, 600 and then, depending on your choice of resin, straight to compound and polish or hit it with 800 and then 1000 and then compound and polish.

Enjoy!

10

Wow!

Thanks a lot guys, big motivation now! Let’s go epoxy. I’ll send some picture as soon as I finished them.

 

11

What kind of alcohol do you use to thin out the epoxy?

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Over here, it’s called alcool à bruler, but I’m pretty sur it’s just denatured alcohol. Yep, just checked the translation and that’s it. I only go about 5% or so, but it seems to help surfacing and sandability.

 

13

Looking forward to seeing them.

14

Alcool a brûler = spirit alcool = Zippo alcool. The less the best, only in thin epoxy coat where it can evaporate before resin set otherwise it’ll keep resin softer. For poly finish on epoxy go with poly gloss. Only way to clean a brush to be reusable with no problèm is to use ketone base solvent, skin sensitize dangerous with epoxy. For noserider, keep weight high, no matter material you use.

15

If you are concerned about the polishing abilites, you still have the option to epoxy the board and finally apply a 2K Polyurethane varnish. this does not only shine, it gives a good UV protection too, diminishing the tendency of some epoxies to yellow over time.

16

Hey thanks Lemat,

Any ideas about the proportions with spirit alcool for the coat?

17

I’ve seen that yeah, I think I’ll do that for my longboard. Thanks Surferdude

 

18

I’ve glassed longboards with epoxy and double 4oz cloth with a slight tweak to weave orientation between layers. It definitely passes my informal thumb pressure test. I.E. no dents or flexing noted.

You may have heard that carbon fiber fabric = stiff boards?  S-Cloth has approx. the same tensile strength so there’s that… actually, the numbers indicate that S-cloth may be even stiffer. The chart to which I’ve linked indicate it has better impact resistance as well.

https://www.corecomposites.com/products/reinforcements.html