As above, i see a few guys using them but i was under the impression they will suck water due to the voids between the beads. shouldnt extruded be used instead?? it makes sense for compsanders but just glassing a eps stringered blank is a bad idea from a customer point of view isnt it? Any holes would let water in, then imagine the forces during surfing would make the board act like a diaphragm pump sucking and blowing water around the voids in the eps?
Only ask cos i was thinking bout doing one for myself, is it a legit way to go? i see greenlight has kits you can buy too.
The eps are really nice. I just shaped a 610 mini gun for myself and love it. the only pain is sealing the blank and that doesnt take that long. We get alot of fixes for eps in our shop and usually just let them dry out for a couple days like any other board. If you are worried you can put a plug in the board to dry it out in cases of damage. If im not mistaken some eps are better than others. Just go with a reputable brand and i wouldnt worry. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Yes, alot of people use eps and no it does not “suck water” and the advantage over xps foam is that when glassed traditional or vac bag style the chemicals do not cause catastrophic delamination and bubbling when exposed to heat. The voids in the eps are not huge like in styrofoam from packing material or a cup but rather the beads fuse to eachother and shape very well. most good eps foam has a water absorption rate of 2% or less, that is not to say that if a board was made improperly water could not get in and stay in a board, but for that to happen there would have to be a delamination issue causing a membrane of water to stay between the glass and the foam or in a case where a board would need to be vented and it was not (like in the case of putting in a window or something that would change the pressure inside the board) this would cause that sucking water effect.
Check out my page, it describes the pros and cons of eps and epoxy as well as comparisons to other materials - foam properties, ect…
I dont know i have had a great look into this and it seems that i get the feeling some people might be calling “extruded” blanks “expanded” you will prob agree that there is still so much confusion on the subject. i know that expanded as a stand alone material will not absorb water readily, but put it in a shell with a hole in it and even with small temp changes it will cause it to expand and contract, let alone the foam itself compressing under foot trafick/wave forces.
can anyone supply the name af the company that you get your “fused” eps from?
Bondor is is close to where i live, has anyone used bondor eps?
Theres just so much hype about this its hard to no whats true. i will prob just try a few VH grade boards and see what happens.
well im shaping 2 of greenlight eps boards. they shape so easily. as for water absorbing i dont know. havent gotten in the water yet. but i did seal the boards with dapt fast and final.
i like the eps so far. hes on break till the 2nd then he will probably chime in.
it seems that i get the feeling some people might be calling “extruded” blanks “expanded” you will prob agree that there is still so much confusion on the subject.
There is no confusion about extruded (XPS) and expanded (EPS). Most guys here know the difference. Only a few people use extruded because of the delam problems. It doesnt bind very well to the glass because the epoxy cant get ‘into’ the foam and it has outgassing problems when it gets compressed → delams under heel dents.
XPS is really not interesting to sell. I made a few XPS boards and if I had a small delam I just punched a hole in the glass (the foam is waterproof) so it couldn’t get worse, try to tell that to a customer ;).
I actually like XPS, its light, shapes very easy (way easier than EPS). And if it’s glassed properly it doesnt has delam problems, if you handle your board with CARE! Sun (heat) is really dangerous for XPS.
eps can and/or does soak water. And whistles and bubbles through any little pinshole or crack you may develope as the temperature changes. It is not the best foam for traditional hand lay-ups as far as I’m concerned unless you are a pro laminator or you never get any cracks in your boards. It also can melt if you get pooling when installing boxes or plugs when the epoxy exotherms. PU is better for hobby guys as far as I’m concerned. Just sharing my experiences and don’t have an axe to grind. Mike
You are right about xps, i have shaped 4 boards out of it and learnt from the first one about the delam issue, it was easy to fix though, just didnt sand the blank out as smooth as normal and presto the other 3 are great.
I would think most of sways no the difference, BUT it seems odd that there is no clarity in EPS, if we talk of fused EPS thats fine but naturally during the process it IS fused, but this is far different from having a foam that is fused so there are no air gaps between fused/joined beads.
For now though smaller bead size will help with water absorbtion and i will definitely put a goretex vent in to keep the board pressure at somewhat of an equilibrium.
The home depot stuff is intended for insulation, not surfboards… that stuff will suck water. At the home depot near my house, the foam has roman numerals listed on it at random intervals all over the plastic facesheet. This roman numeral specifies the density. I looked up the densities on the manufactures website at one point, but that was a while ago and I cant recall the manufacturer, or what densities they had. I think the stuff they had at the store here was approx 1lb. See what they can custom order for you.
Thanks,Ive read the compsand thread and berts thread about 5 times each.Im actually stoked to have just ordered a few parts for my vac setup.Can’t wait to get started with this stuff,the economy is really slowing my progress though.I now make 1/10th of what I was making just 2 years ago.
Please update your user profile to include your location…Go ahead and call me a grumpy old man…SenergyTodd and I just made a deal… it’s due to location…I can’t trade blanks with a person that lives 2000 miles away…
If you get out of the water and fix your board when it gets dinged your board will last much longer. It’s not about foam it’s about taking care of your equipment. EPS sucks water so does CLARK FOAM. In my book your question is a non-issue.
Need to buy some EPS foam? Three companies that are involved with Swaylock’s ship everywhere
I’m in complete agreement concerning repairing dings immediately. Duct tape does not count. It’s the little rail cracks and such that go unoticed that worry me. At least with eps the whistling and gurgling sounds you hear clue you that you may be taking in water. Mine can whistle for days. If I can figure out what key they are in I can play along on my harmoncia. Can’t say that about poly-u. (lame attempt at sarcastic humor) I’ll will say the eps foams Stingray mentioned may be of better quality than I have used and may indeed be a non-issue. Again, I’m refering to simple, tradional hand lay-ups and not anyone building compsands using vacumes and other gadgetry. Poly-u with suncure polyester is tuff to beat for hobby guys. I think it surfs better, too.Mike
Thanks afoaf,I will add that to my book of knowledge and if the stuff I have turns out to be a failure I will look into a setup like yours,I like it,seems simple.
I won’t be using pvc pipe for tanks though,I have a small twin tank air compressor that stopped working,it will be perfect for the tanks.I ordered a mac valve and vacuum controller,and got the pump down the road for cheap,the rest I will pick up at the hardware store.I will have about 100$ invested in it…I hope.
