epoxy stickiness

General Discussion
1

I have neve laminated a board before but have done some repairs with expoxy. Is there a trick to get the glass to stick to the underside of the board when laminating the rails. I find it doesn’t set up quick enough to stay put. Any suggestions?

Also, anybody have experience with “West System” epoxy for laminating an entire board?

thanks very much

bill

2

if possible, use RR epoxy + Additive F

3

If your rail wraps aren’t sticking, you’re using too much resin. The cloth floats up & lets go. You need to laminate much drier.

West System, for me at least, has turned quite yellow & brittle in a short amount of time. There are several much better epoxies out there for surfboard building, all of which ship by UPS. Resinresearch.net, TAP Plastics, the Fiberglass Hawaii stuff…

4

Thanks for the replies.

1 problem for me is that I live in Ontario, Canada and know that UPS will not ship resin over the border (hazardous materials). I have access to West System but nothing else in town. Does anyone have an info on where I can order RR + F additive within Canada. I will be travelling to North Carolina in the April, any info on where to pick some up in Cape Hatteras?

Thanks

bill

5

Fiberglass Supply in Bingham, WA.

Info on their System Three epoxies:

http://www.fiberglasssupply.com/Product_Catalog/Epoxy/epoxy.html

Info on their regular shipping of resins to Canada:

Quote:
SHIPMENTS OUTSIDE USA 
 NO COD's.  All orders must be paid in advance. We accept Visa, MasterCard and Discover/Novus.  Certified check, international money order, bank wire, or irrevocable letter of credit, payable at a US bank, in US dollars, is acceptable.

 We regularly ship into Canada by UPS, Parcel Post and Common Carrier. UPS does not accept Hazardous Materials shipments to Canada or outside the contiguous 48 states.

 For Canadian common carrier (truck) shipments, we suggest that you obtain a customs broker to expedite processing.  We can provide a list of Canadian customs brokers.  Hazardous materials can be shipped to Canada by common carrier.

 We will arrange freight and provide quotes to ship anywhere worldwide.  Many items can be shipped internationally by UPS or by International Parcel Post.  We will work with you to ascertain the best shipping method.</blockquote></div>

System Three is what Fiberglass Hawaii sells too, its good stuff.

6

I have ordered and had System Three epoxy shipped via Fiberglass Supply here in the USA. It is not considered to be a hazardous material by UPS. They do not charge a hazardous material fee, at least not here in the USA. Epoxy is really not all that flammable, especially in comparison to polyester resin or solvents such as acetone.

7

Aloha! Most of these type of problems that I’ve experienced were because the overlaps themselves were cut too short, primarily with freelaps. Longer laps have more holding power (and make for a stronger lamination). Also, the type of cloth you use can be a factor. Hexcel is the stiffest I’ve used, which might want to pull back, whereas JPS is a lot more flexible and tends to stick a lot better. The RR epoxy that I’ve just started using seems to be more sticky than polyester, and the lapline bonds to the other side a lot better than PE. Length of laps- that’s what you might want to work on. Aloha…RH