Just info for anyone following these threads. I am not being paid to promote this stuff or anything, I just think it is a good resource. Europe For Organic fair trade hemp, from Europe try www.ecolution.com Email , tell him I sent you. In the US they are based in California If there is enough demand then they would look at producing 4oz cloth specifically for surfboards. The reason I selected Romanan hemp is because I dont wish to support the Chinese government and their occupation of Tibet, it is a personal choice. Its also to do with concern over product quality and environmental concerns. I am not a total tree hugger, but I do believe in the mantra reduce, reuse, recycle. I think research and re-source should also be added to this. Ecolution hemp is prepared in an entirely ecological manner, by mechanical combings and sorting, in marked contrast to the chemically pulped and cottonized short-fiber hemp from China (see the adjoining image comparing Romanian and Chinese fibers) Worker conditions are excellent, that to me is imnportant. In Europe/UK seabase sell ricepaper for printing and creating logos, email http://www.ecolution.com 
SimonJ, Have you used hemp as a laminate yet or just thinking about it? My friend and I are planning to do such and have been waiting to find a high-quality fabric of the appropriate weight. We used some 10oz. hemp swatches (most likely Chinese) as test samples wet-out over pieces of polystyrene and the result was a surprisingly strong piece of plastic. I believe that it was Greg Loehr who wrote previously that he only had success with hemp by layering glass over it because it wouldn’t wet out properly, but I have a theory that it can be used alone. Anyway, I’m curious to know what your experience is with hemp because I’m almost at the “buy some hemp cloth” stage. Thanks for any insight on Romanian hemp, it looks far superior to the Chinese stuff.
Hi Matt, Just wondering if you know how much resin was soaked up by your test cloth and how big the piece was?
Romanian hemp will arrive with me about Jan 25th. It has been sourced and is coming. The use of hemp in the board is going ahead, definate-positive-sure. I am probably going to do a composite, deck 1 layer fireglass, 1 layer hemp, bottom hemp. As soon as it is done you can expect to see it in the resources section here at swaylocks. www.oceangreen.org are in production now in the UK, worth checking out. I emailed them and they are fairly stoked with the idea of sourcing from www.ecolution.com as prior to this they have been getting most from China. Like I said, I promise to provide a step by step addition to resources. So far this is what I know re pre-production handling. 1) The hemp fabric should be washed with plain water, no detergent, at 60 or 90 degrees centigrade to remove any traces of starch and to close up the weave. 2) The hemp fabric needs to be ironed prior to application. I am having this done in an industrial laundry, the people who do tablecloths etc for hotels and hospitals. I have further information from Greg Loher and others, and these will re-appear in swaylocks sometime in mid february. http://www.ecolution.com
ConfusionHill, I’m sorry I can’t give you any numbers because I never measured the volume of resin and I didn’t even measure the size of the cloth. These pieces were really small, like 4" x 5", so probably not the best indicator. However, the cloth, which was comparatively heavy to what would normally be used on boards, didn’t absorb much resin to wet out. After one thorough wipe with the squeegee, the contours of the cloth’s rough weave stuck out and it looked just like it did before, but shiny. I would feel very comfortable using the cloth to cover a board, even without a hot coat. I added a second coat of resin to these samples, which would basically serve as a gloss coat on an actual board. My friend and I, just out of curiosity, tested the impact strength of each sample by hitting it with the corner of a glass bottle. It took about five tries of increasing power to even dent the surface, and this was comparable to a carpenter going to town with a hammer. We did the same test and had the same results when using a pointed object in a stabbing motion, like what a sharp rock or other snag might do. While these tests are by no means scientific, they are interesting and encouraging. I know now that at the very least, this particular epoxy/hemp combo is much stronger against impact than polyester/glass. What I don’t know is how it holds up against flex.
Hi Matt, just looked at your post again. www.oceangreen.org use polystyrene, epoxy and hemp fabric. My assumption is they use a vaccumn bag system. We will be using an MDI Polyurethene blank from www.homeblown.com, a high end epoxy and hemp fabric.
Matt, Thanks for the info…as far as flex goes Greg Loehr stated a few threads back that his more flexible resin 2020 Resin Research worked great with hemp cloth and that the less flexible 2000 Resin Research didn’t fare as well. I think he detailed the reasons pretty well and you could find it in the archives.