EPOXY - the pros and cons?

Just curious about this. I’ve very rarely seen an epoxy board over hear in Africa and the general opinion seems to be that the polystyrene/epoxy boards are a lot more expensive than the polyeurethane/polyester standard board. I’ve heard that the epoxy boards are not only lighter but stronger too and are less environmentally friendly since polystyrene is much easier to break down into its original ingredients than polyuerethane which, according to a plastics engineer friend of mine, is so inert that the best thing to do with it is burn it producing several toxic gases. Oh, and flexibility? Cheers for any feedback from anyone in the know Johnny Amos

Just curious about this. I’ve very rarely seen an epoxy board over hear in > Africa and the general opinion seems to be that the polystyrene/epoxy > boards are a lot more expensive than the polyeurethane/polyester standard > board. I’ve heard that the epoxy boards are not only lighter but stronger > too and are less environmentally friendly since polystyrene is much easier > to break down into its original ingredients than polyuerethane which, > according to a plastics engineer friend of mine, is so inert that the best > thing to do with it is burn it producing several toxic gases. Oh, and > flexibility?>>> Cheers for any feedback from anyone in the know>>> Johnny Amos Apologies, just realised …I mean’t to say that the polystyrene/epoxy combination is MORE environmentally friendly than the polyurethane/polyester combo JA

John, I’ve only made a few styro/epoxy boards. I made them with 2 lb./cu. ft. Expanded polystyrene foam. I cover them with 3 layers of 6 oz./sq. yd. E (standard) glass, deck and bottom, plus a 2/3 length deck patch. In my opinion they roughly equate in strength to an “old” style board with green foam and 2 layers of 6 oz glass. However, my boards are probably 2 lbs (.9 kg) lighter in weight than the old kind of board, made that way. When polyurethane decks dent, the underlying foam turns to powder. Further stress in the same area starts cracking the glass. Styro/epoxy board strength is a little different. Unlike polyurethane foam, when styro/epoxy decks dent the underlying foam compresses and becomes stronger. My styro/epoxy decks dent more like blue foam boards, but they last much longer. The 3+ layers of glass on the styro/epoxy boards make them stiffer in bouncing off lips, but you pick up the rhythm, and get used to it. The environmental comparison is probably a wash. They cut styrofoam blanks in rectangles, so you throw away much more foam. Epoxy fiberglass is much stronger than polyester fiberglass. It’s more resistant to spider dings. However, epoxy plastic breaks down in sunlight. Epoxy for surfboards should contain UV inhibitors, and should be covered with polyester surfboard resin. Be careful with liquid epoxy, it’s HIGHLY allergenic. -Noodle>>> Just curious about this. I’ve very rarely seen an epoxy board over hear in > Africa and the general opinion seems to be that the polystyrene/epoxy > boards are a lot more expensive than the polyeurethane/polyester standard > board. I’ve heard that the epoxy boards are not only lighter but stronger > too and are less environmentally friendly since polystyrene is much easier > to break down into its original ingredients than polyuerethane which, > according to a plastics engineer friend of mine, is so inert that the best > thing to do with it is burn it producing several toxic gases. Oh, and > flexibility?>>> Cheers for any feedback from anyone in the know>>> Johnny Amos