eps foam, clark foam

General Discussion
1

is eps bad for the environment?

is clark foam bad?

i mean, how long do they take to decompose?

2

I am sure that either of them would take a LONG time to decompose.

PU foam (clark) also has some toxic chemicals used in it’s construction.

Most EPS foam today uses CO2 as a blowing agent, not necessarily the best gas to be putting out (as we are learning more and more), but it is not a carcinogen or anything like that. As another bonus, the company I deal with will recycle the offcuts that I bring back, as long as they are not dirtied up. I think most EPS companies will do the same.

Personally, I am trying to minimalize the impact that I have on the environment. Ideally I would love to be able to live off the grid in a sustainable manner. … the problem is that it does take a certain amount of money to be able to accomplish this goal… and to get the money you have to be in the grid somehow…

Working on it. :slight_smile:

3

really

what you want is a low toxic board that lasts a really long time

unfortunately pu/pe

often doesnt fall into that category

4

wood is low toxic and lasts a long time

cue Roy 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

5

wood rocks

i love wood in surfboards

6

i’m thinking about going balsa for my next board, so the only bad part for mother nature will be the glassing. but im workin on that too.

on average. how durable is a balsa board? will it pressure dent from floaters? what about if it’s hollow?

what happens when it gets dinged, or damaged, and water gets into the wood, does it take a really long time to dry out and get back to normal again? is it fixable?

please fill me in, im clueless.

7

balsa isnt that durable its sucks water

so you have to have all your endgrain covered

if you want hollow wood

roy stuarts method is straight forward and cool way to build a surfboard

i do mine balsa over eps

i use balsa because its renewable resource and cheap

yes you still need resin and cloth

but the point is

that if the board last twenty years

then thats 10 to 20 less pu/pes ending up as landfill

also epoxy has far less vocs

and no solvents are required or styrene