Aloha Braddahs, I am facing a deadline on some boards going to indo and my supply of RR epoxy has run dry. (Greg we are having hard time on da Big Island getting your stuff.) So I am faced with finishing a board that has the bottom fabric laminated on with RR and switching to Fiberglass Hawaii 2/1 epoxy to get her done. What can you guy’s tell me about the differances in the two? I am very stoked with RR and have had perfect results with it. Also if I switch my thoughts are on compatability with them for repairing all the boards I made with RR. I also am worried about yellowing the new CE RR was very stable and stays white a long time. Any yellowing with FH??? Please help - I got four shaped blanks on the racks needing some love. Mahalo’s.
Never had any yellowing with FH epoxy. I have interchanged resin and hardner between FH and RR without any problems. I buy whatever is cheaper and mix with whatever I have left. Three things I always do: Use a scale for mixing proportions, heat up the resin before mixing the hardener, mix it then mix it again.
Hey Pete,
Thats what I’ve never dared…mixing brands. I wonder to what extent this is do-able across a range of brands. (But I’m not game to go there…)
Chrissupp…I used both, and many others, extensively. The notable differerence is that FH fast is waaaaay fast, like hotmix polyester fast in a warm climate.
That was really good for filler (hot) coats, but I prefer a little more relaxed laminating!
FH was also good on not yellowing, but for long-term not-yellowing, 2pac finish on any epoxy is the goods.
Josh
Never tried 2pac finishes. Do you use white or clear or some other color? What’s the brand name you use?
Clear…over filler coat artwork. Sometimes buffed, sometimes not. My 2pac is an Aussie brand. There are numerous types. It polishes well, is tough and UV resistant.
If you go there you will need an excellent respirator and extraction.
Josh
2pac finish on any epoxy is the goods.
It’s funny how the Aussies are way ahead of the Yanks concerning finishes when we have some of the best products available known to man here in the states. My nephews from the Sunshine Coast of OZ would bring their boards to california that were finished with 2PAC and there boards were just as light as a sand finish only glossy with no scratches and white as can be.
We have a lot of boat building in the area were my factory is. The Marine finishes applied are so advance and high tech. Too bad the surfing community is so far behind the technology that is available and refuse to embrace it?
That’s the case in Cali generally speaking of course.
Epoxy gloss coat sounds so primitive? Years ago I had some Epoxy longboard done in Poly Ester Gloss coat that even thought the boards still yellowed (Epoxy Lam) the finish held up well. I will switch over to a different method for applying gloss coats on polyester or epoxy to high end marine application.
The boards on your web site are done in 2PAC?
Yellow boards are kooky!
I’ve got a buttery yellow epoxy board built with MAS that just also happens to be a balsa skinned compwich…so the yellowing adds a nice depth to the wood.
I’m very interested in these marine finishes…the 2pak has always been unapproachable since I don’t have the gear for spraying, but I heard someone allude to brushed on finishes that you can sand/polish to get a similar (tough, shiny) effect.
Any ideas?
I will go the high tech route.
However I did have some success with conversion varish water base with UV additive.
It’s in two parts and available at Sherman Williams.
As far as yellowing that’s not a bad thing on a wooden board.
I was referring to a board that is suppose to be white.
FH fast hardener is awesome for fill coats, I agree Josh.
I wish Kinetics had one like that.
Afoaf,
I’ve brushed 2pac clears before, it’s completely possible. Some of them are designed to brush as well.
But for me, the whole point is to spray it, so you don’t have to sand as much, and you get such a thin film that you save a fair bit of weight over poly gloss.
If you’re gunna brush it, may as well just use poly IMO, much cheaper!
2Pacs do sand pretty easily though.
I switched to poly gloss when I lost access to a spray booth. I hear all the horror stories about isocyanate paint, and I’m not taking any chances.
I find doing a poly gloss is much more work, but i’m getting better results now than with 2pac, mainly because all the extra sanding winds up giving you such a sweet surface.
Definitely worth the work.
2Pac will give you as lush a finish if you do it right, but I feel that the thin film maybe loses a bit of optical depth? maybe not.
Sorry to interject here,
But just to be clear for the all readers please understand the toxicity of the 2pac isocyanate clear or paint. You can walk into any autoparts store or auto paint supply shop and buy the paint/clear. You may or most likely not get a complete warning about its use. There are no known filters that will protect you from the isocyanate that is present in the hardener. It can be absorbed through the skin and can be deadly. The only way to safely spray the paint is with a suit, forced air mask, and or a down draft booth. Look up Isocyanate online and see what it is, SCARY! So why is it used, because it gives the fastest drying, hardest, thinest finish.
There are other finishes that are 2 part that don’t have the isocyanate but when the term “2pac” is used it usually means isocyanate. Please be carefull!
Aloha Chrisupp,
I’ve used both but never the CE with the FH stuff. The CE is noticeably blue whereas the FH is just clear. If you are using any color on the blank it may not show up but if the board is clear it will show. You might be able to tint the FH with the smallest amount of blue to get it to match.
I’ve done quite a few SUP’s mixing the regular RR and the FH resin. Lammed bottoms with RR and FH tops. Sealer coats with FH and RR laminations. All without any problems with color or bonding. I have a few boards that are CE lammed and hotcoated and a few that are FH on EPS. The CE ones definately stay whiter longer but the FH resin is pretty close, but that is over EPS.
If you are going to use the FH for laminations I’d use the slow. The fast is very fast in hotter temps. I’ve found on larger boards that it is too fast. The RR fast is somewhere inbetween the FH fast and slow. I’m partial to the RR because I’m using it on PU blanks and I like the X55 for hotcoats.
Thanks to all - no 2PAC for me - sanded finish. I have been putting white pigment in all of my boards lately so should hide the seems of the two different resins. Mahalo