I have searched through the archives and have found plenty of information on techniques for sealing EPS. The 2 most common being spackle and resin/qcell coat. I have used the spackle method on my last board and had some success with it. I am starting this forum because I don’t know if I should stick with that method for my senario. I am shaping a board for my wedding. I am using it as the guest book. I want to have all of the guests, sign, draw, doodle whatever they would like on the deck of a 6’0" retro fish. On the bottom I plan on doing a green, white & black resin tint. I am also shaping custom bamboo fins for it. A little advance for only my 3rd board but I love a good challenge! My question is sealing the deck. Previously I had issues with the painting/writing on the eps blank after I sealed it with spackle. The spackle, no matter how much I blew it off, seemed to clog the pens up like was writing in dirt (I have tried paint pens and sharpies). I have already sealed the deck with a lightweight spackle and I am debating whether or not to try throwing a thin resin coat over it to create a better surface to write on, or just leave it. Also does anyone know if an acrylic clear spray over the spackle would give me a better surface? Thanks for the help in advance! Swaylocks is an awesome resource for the beginner shaper! Attached is the blank shaped waiting to be finished
How about having your guests sign a large peice of rice paper and then laminating that into the board. I have used a midium thickness rice paper for my decals and it works very nice… Just my 2 cents.
Trust me on this one, you don't want drunk wedding guests signing/doodling on an unglassed blank. Maybe a large piece of laminate paper cut to shape so that it will all show up after glassing as Bartt suggested. I'd glass it, sand it, then give them Sharpie paint pens or Poscas. Afterwards, either put an epoxy gloss coat or spray a good automotive clear coat over it.
have them sign a large pad on an easel or a poster on and easel then take a digital picture and print it in poster format (multiple panels per page) on rice paper to laminate on your board…
no signing a board
no signing a laminate
same result…
Just had a similar situation, artist to paint flying fish on deck and bottom. I double sealed the eps with greenroom epoxy and micro ballons then lightly sanded. great surface for writing or painting. Tints also do much better on the sealed surface. Double sealing just about eliminates and chance of bubbles getting in the lam and seems to take less resin to laminate.
Glass the board to a sanded fillcoat stage. Gloss the bottom and leave the deck un-glossed. Take it to the wedding and have your guests sign-doodle on the sanded surface of the deck with water based paint pens like Sharpies or Poscas (make sure their hands are clean when they do it). After the wedding, gloss the deck to seal the writings. This way you’ll avoid the blank getting dented, damaged or contaminated with what ever comes in contact with it during your wedding.
I’m with atomized- hot coat, sand, then gloss after the guests sign. One word of warning- don’t use the permanent sharpies with epoxy, they bleed. Also, why use epoxy at all? It is much more expensive and I’m guessing the board is going to be a wall hanger, right? Or are you going to let them sign, and then when they’re done you wax and stomp all over their John Henrys? Also, I’ve had all kind of problems with gloss coats and I can just imagine one of your guests (or a lot of them) after munching on buffalo wings or nachos or whatever, getting their gubby paws all over the deck, and then your gloss coat separates, and then you get in a fight when your new bride tells you “I told you so…” and then…well, I’ll just stop there.
Congrats
Do it on the sanded fill coat. And yes, Sharpies bleed like stink. I’d recommend soft #8 pencils from your local art supply. Gloss it with just a touch of the green you used on the bottom mixed into clear.
Thanks everyone for the helpful information!! I never even thought of having them sign some rice paper and then laminating it in! It sounds like a lot of people suggest to finish lam and leave the sanded finish for the signing and then throw a hot coat on. I have 3 days to finish it so if I run out of time I will probably go with the rice paper method, but if my resin tint goes well tonight I may finish the deck! Thanks again for everyones help!
**llilibel - I am using epoxy because I had some eps blanks and epoxy that someone bought me as a b-day present so it was mostly free. Isn't that the only option with eps? Also I have only done 3 boards, all have been with epoxy I have found it to be less of a guessing game when it comes to cure times. I do a lot of ding repairs with poly resin but on a larger scale I can't seem to get the hang of the reactor/hardener. It always goes off too fast or too slow. I guess I just need some more practice with it. ** Oh an there is still a debate on whether or not it will be a decoration or a ridable board! I vote ride it, she votes hang it!
Thanks again everyone!
One more question: If I go with the lam and then have it signed how can I avoid the problem llilibel brings up. Once everyone signs it I doubt the gloss/hot coat is going to adhere very well... Has anyone ever tried to put a hot coat of poly resin over and expoxy lam? Maybe this will fix the gloss coat separation problem?
Poly over epoxy is not recommended on boards you plan to ride. If you’re just gonna hang it, you’re ok, I guess.
Put a box of gloves on the board with the pencils/pens… and have everybody slip them on to do their thing.
Clear acrylic over the writing/art, then hotcoat, might help, too.
If you use paint pens, you can lightly scuff the whole thing with a scotch brite and it should all stay on the board. Wipe it down with a dry, clean lint free towel. Gloss with epoxy, but stay with it, don't brush it out and walk away. If the gloss starts separating, drip a little more resin on that spot. You have to babysit it, but once it gels, you're home free. You may have some lumps to sand out, but it's not that big a deal.
Again, a good two part automotive clearcoat will work just fine and is very durable. You may have to wetsand it to smooth it out, but it goes pretty quick and you can get a really good shine that lasts.
Another option is to finish the board and have your guest sign it with a Sharpie like boards that get autographed at surf events and auctions. This is a finished wedding board I did the graphics on a custom inlay. The wedding guest signed the deck with a permanent marker on top of the polished gloss.
[img_assist|nid=1045245|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=166]
i been riding poly finish coat over epoxy hard out for 2 years now. no problems. when i say hard out, thats 5 hour surfs 30 to 40 waves per surf 2 to 3 days a week
I’ve never done it. Just too many horror stories out there. But I’ve always been tempted.
What’s the trick to getting a durable bond between the two materials? I always thought about some way to “prime” the epoxy… like a fill coat with sticky lam resin, then gloss over that.
Well I am just about finished I decided to go with the sanded Lam finish for the top and have everyone sign it, then I'll hotcoat it. I finshed the bottom completely but I forgot to pick up some additive f so will see how the hotcoat comes out! (Its curing now and I have a feeling I am going to be sanding quite a few fish eyes down. My first resin swirl came out pretty good I didn't see any issues with using epoxy but then again I have never used poly for a whole board so I don't have much to compare too. I am not sure what kind of expoxy I was using since it came in OJ containers as a gift but I can tell you it was not resin reseach. This stuff that I used was a little thin and runny when mixed. RR would def made the swirl come out better. I also decide to make my own bamboo fins which also turned out nice if I don't say so myself and my first cut lap went well although I had to do a super thick pin line to cover up the lap line. I tried 3 different types of tape and found it very hard to get anything to stick to the spackle coat. Thanks for everyones help! I never thought I would have finished this board in less than a week! I have attached a few pics so you can see my progress!
