I have an EPS epoxy board that was left with me to install/repair FCS plugs. Should I use anything special in the way of epoxy resin? I have a 2 part, pint kit from the lumberyard, was going to use white pigment, filler and install the plugs as I normally would. This epoxy dries kind of tinted but I’m hoping the pigment will mask that. What do you epoxy guys suggest. Thanks! Tom S.
I just put a set in my 6’5" epoxy egg. I followed the advice I found on the page found on the link below. Still bore your rings down to the deck (on the front fins) but bore the top of the H pattern more shallow to prevent over heating. It worked well for me. If you are using the slower kicking hardner keep an eye on the resin levels around the fin plugs. When the resin takes a while to kick you run the chance of the foam drawing more resin, reducing the resin level around the plugs. This will prevent you from having to go back and topping off the holes later. I found no real difference in epoxy vs. poly. Just the few things I mentioned above. Good luck. http://www.surfsource.net/Manufacturing/Surfboard%20blank/moreinfo.htm
Oh yeah when I did mine it was 60 degrees out, and I was using the 30min hardner. It took about 2.5 hours to really gel. Stay away from doing it when it is hot out.
Thanks Mike. What do you suggest on the choice of epoxy resin. Does it matter? TS>>> I just put a set in my 6’5" epoxy egg. I followed the advice I found > on the page found on the link below. Still bore your rings down to the > deck (on the front fins) but bore the top of the H pattern more shallow to > prevent over heating. It worked well for me. If you are using the slower > kicking hardner keep an eye on the resin levels around the fin plugs. When > the resin takes a while to kick you run the chance of the foam drawing > more resin, reducing the resin level around the plugs. This will prevent > you from having to go back and topping off the holes later. I found no > real difference in epoxy vs. poly. Just the few things I mentioned above. > Good luck.
I think as long as it is clear cast resin you won’t have any problems. I used the resin located on the linked page. SS2000 resin. Noodle might be able to tell you if the resin you have is acceptable. I just don’t have a lot of experience with various types of epoxy resin. I did a bunch of pen work on the epoxy I did with fcs plugs, so I did not use pigment. But I have seen a bunch of boards that Steve Forstall (the guy giving the info on the page) and he uses fcs almost exclusively on his epoxy and he does use pigment in his epoxy resin. It looks the same as a poly. You should not have a problem with that. Just make sure your ratio is two to one and you mix it very, very good. If you don’t the resin will set but it will be like rubber cement. The epoxy resin is almost like melted plastic, and the hardner is almost as thin as water. You want to mix the two consistencies together very well. You will see the consistency change. http://www.surfsource.net/Manufacturing/Resin%20Accessories/resinandaccessories.htm
Tom, Read the instructions on that epoxy. If they say the epoxy should kick in ten to fifteen minutes at room temperature you might have a problem. The epoxy will pool in your plug hole and heat up. If it heats too much, it could melt foam and cause a big hole. Before applying the epoxy I would mix up a batch to test. I would test the epoxy by pouring it into a hole in a piece of trash foam. If it melts foam, get some slower kick epoxy. What are you going to use for stiffening and filling the epoxy? I use diatomaceous earth from the pool supply store. It’s off-white, so some pigment would be a good thing. Resin doesn’t make a very good structure on its own. It won’t span a gap and remain strong.
Thanks Noodle, it seems that the key to the epoxy is the working time and the inherant heat generated when using it in a confined space like a fin plug. I bought this stuff back when I was fooling with blue builders foam in 4" panels. I would cut them in two and put my own rockered stringer into them and glue them back up. I believe it was a 30 min. cure type. The DE is a good tip. I’ve filed that away from your previous posts. In fact not 10 min. ago a coworker came in to tell me he was looking for some to use on ant beds under his house foundation, so we are going to split a 50 lb. bag. Is there a problem using the tubes of boat resin pigments in most epoxies? I’m going to run a test tonight. Tom>>> Tom,>>> Read the instructions on that epoxy. If they say the epoxy should kick in > ten to fifteen minutes at room temperature you might have a problem. The > epoxy will pool in your plug hole and heat up. If it heats too much, it > could melt foam and cause a big hole. Before applying the epoxy I would > mix up a batch to test. I would test the epoxy by pouring it into a hole > in a piece of trash foam. If it melts foam, get some slower kick epoxy.>>> What are you going to use for stiffening and filling the epoxy? I use > diatomaceous earth from the pool supply store. It’s off-white, so some > pigment would be a good thing. Resin doesn’t make a very good structure on > its own. It won’t span a gap and remain strong.
Tom,>>> Read the instructions on that epoxy. If they say the epoxy should kick in > ten to fifteen minutes at room temperature you might have a problem. The > epoxy will pool in your plug hole and heat up. If it heats too much, it > could melt foam and cause a big hole. Before applying the epoxy I would > mix up a batch to test. I would test the epoxy by pouring it into a hole > in a piece of trash foam. If it melts foam, get some slower kick epoxy.>>> What are you going to use for stiffening and filling the epoxy? I use > diatomaceous earth from the pool supply store. It’s off-white, so some > pigment would be a good thing. Resin doesn’t make a very good structure on > its own. It won’t span a gap and remain strong. What about adding fine fiberglass shavings to the resin to give it more structural intergrity?
Thanks Noodle, it seems that the key to the epoxy is the working time and > the inherant heat generated when using it in a confined space like a fin > plug. I bought this stuff back when I was fooling with blue builders foam > in 4" panels. I would cut them in two and put my own rockered > stringer into them and glue them back up. I believe it was a 30 min. cure > type. The DE is a good tip. I’ve filed that away from your previous posts. > In fact not 10 min. ago a coworker came in to tell me he was looking for > some to use on ant beds under his house foundation, so we are going to > split a 50 lb. bag. Is there a problem using the tubes of boat resin > pigments in most epoxies? I’m going to run a test tonight.>>> Tom Sounds like your epoxy is slow enough that it probably won’t melt foam. Depending on reasonable air temperature, and not too big of a resin pool. I’m not much on pigmenting, don’t know about compatibility. I would be relying on manufacturers’ instructions. Pros?
What about adding fine fiberglass shavings to the resin to give it more > structural intergrity? Not an expert here, but… I think fiberglass would be one of the strongest fillers you could use, but fiberglass doesn’t absorb resin well. Resin can flow out of fiberglass fibers. DE is like tiny irregular glass shards with a little calcium. It absorbs resin. I’ve read that aluminum powder, Q-cell, and microballoons also absorb resin, and make reasonably strong structures.
Noodle: Bought a bag of D.E. at the pool supply store. It is very white and very uniform material, looks great for filler. Was cruising through K-Mart later and they had better pricing and various sizes in the pool supply section. I’m going to use it in the shop and on the fire ants as well. Interesting multi-purpose material that is supposed to be one of the best non-toxic solutions for lots of insect pests. Tom>>> Not an expert here, but… I think fiberglass would be one of the > strongest fillers you could use, but fiberglass doesn’t absorb resin well. > Resin can flow out of fiberglass fibers. DE is like tiny irregular glass > shards with a little calcium. It absorbs resin. I’ve read that aluminum > powder, Q-cell, and microballoons also absorb resin, and make reasonably > strong structures.
I buy mine at Stater Bros. Supermarkets.Herb
Cool, converts. At the boat shops I worked at long ago, we used powdered asbestos for fairing compound. It worked great! Hmmm…wonder what ever happened to that stuff? …cough