I’ve heard a lot of people talk about how they’ve used Home Depot EPS foam to make blanks but has anyone ever used the fiberglass and resin from there to glass a board? Just curious
don’t do it
surfboard glassing resin is ultra clear made for surfboards
most polyester resin at places like Home Depot is brown
don’t take the brown resin
The Home Depot I shop @ here in Anaheimhills doesn’t carry epoxy resin anymore ,at that it was a very poor quality,but was do-able if you really had to go that route.The foam is the 1 pound stuff and in my opinion not that good ,but again do-able.
The polyester resin is very poor quality(dark tinted) , especially for surfboard building.Herb
Believe me, I’ve considered it. 
Problem is, the HD poly resins eat the HD styrofoam.
Now, if you decide to buy the yellow HD urethane foam insulation and make it into a blank (which would work fine too) and then glass it with the HD poylester resin you’d end up with a totally retro looking orangish surfboard. Complete with a stringer made of the 1/4" thick redwood garden bender board from the outside section…
Matter of fact, I’m a little surprised with myself that I haven’t tried this yet!
Fins…hmmm…your best bet is probably more 1/8" redwood glassed with the heavy cloth & yellow resin.
Heck, if it doesn’t work, you can probably put it on eBay as a '60’s board 
yeah, I thought it looked a little dark. even as a newbie at making boards I knew that would be a bad idea. I have two boards ready to glass and it’s the part that scares me the most…I’ve been trying to decide if I do it myself or take it to Drewtang to get him to do it and I just watch and learn. is it better to watch the first one or just jump in and take a chance?
I read the “Home Depot” cop-out stuff too. I don’t know if people are just SO desparate or lazy, but you can get resin at least for reasonably priced with shipping included. Here’s a site, just buy a 5gallon bucket and get it over with for awhile.
thanks for the site. it’s not about the money for me, I was just seeing if it would work. I have been getting most things I need from Surf Source just up the road from me.
THA-That’s almost sick enough for me to try,at least once anyway.
Benny …how about using the pu foam sandwiched between layers of eps,or visa/ versa…you know? A core blank…Redwood or ply or poplar…how about polyproplyene 1/8" sheet stringers,…worth the argument anyway.Herb
If you are new to glassing with PE resin, do your lam coats with UV resin. You’ll have unlimited working time as long as the UV resin is not exposed to any UV light. I do all my PE laminations with UV. It is so forgiving and cures so fast when properly exposed to sunlight. I don’t think Home Depot sells UV.
DV
Side note regarding Home Depot foam: Much of the foam sheets at Home Depot in Honolulu is from Pacific Allied at Campbell Industrial Park. I was at the Pacific Allied EPS factory this morning picking up an order. I asked the rep there about the Home Depot wall insuating foam sheets/slabs (anywhere from 1 inch to two inches thick, about 1 1/2 pounds density). The Pacific Allied guy said that they add a termicide to the household insulating foam slabs. I don’t know if that would affect the laminating process, or how toxic that stuff is.
I picked up some 2 lb. density EPS pieces. I’m going to try Uncle D’s foam blade and fiberglass paddle construction methods.
mokulele
Dennis is right
UV is the most efficient with least waste since you can recycle the drippings like Kokua does.
Almost every pro glasser/board maker here I know uses FH UV resin and UV light boxes to control the cure. I don’t know why no one ever talks about it versus getting the fever from the Pox… Not that there’s anything wrong with getting the Pox but UV has so much to offer outside of pure strength and it’s B.O… But there’s prolly guys you hang aroung who smell worse.
HD Foam is no way to make a either a production or serious board or if you have a shop setup where you can store a block or take your time under good lights. But for making one-offs experiments that may end up being throw aways you can’t go wrong with two 3" thick blanks for $15 blank. It also happens to be some of the lightest density EPS you can get, and that’s what Bert’s premise was based on least we forget. Dave and silly have figured that out too. With proper design the core don’t matter a heck of alot other than buffer the action between the skin and rails.
Other wise you might as well buy the best EPS you can get like Marko or a Buford, Bennett or Surfblanks Chili-white.
Sometimes we ignore the fact that you need to get past the shape and design part of the equation before the materials should come into play. Be nice to see talk here about pure design than improving and cost saving construction techniques…
ADAM30,
HomeDepot doesn´t exist here in Spain. But we have LeroyMerlin, BricoKing, AKI and other hardware stores.
HD and those other hardware’s have EPS sheets, OK.
HD and those other hardware’s have fibreglass rolls, OK.
But the question are:
Do they have roving fibreglass rolls? I guess you know those mat fibreglass rolls aren’t suited for surfboard glassing.
Do they have epoxy resin? I guess you know poliester resin eats EPS like children eat chocolate.
Foamez does in Westminster uncle D.
I use a combo catalization…works killer.Herb
Quote:
But the question are:
Do they have roving fibreglass rolls? I guess you know those mat fibreglass rolls aren’t suited for surfboard glassing.
Yes they have the kind of mat you use to strip off individual strands of rope to do your fins like alot of shops do.
Quote:
Do they have epoxy resin? I guess you know poliester resin eats EPS like children eat chocolate.
Yes they do but none of the stuff they carry is designed specifically for surfboard manufacturing, it’s for sealing your wood/concrete deck in the back or to create an epoxy floor in your garage, or stuff made by Bondo to patch holes in your house… Epoxy’s main use is in the building industry and heavy contruction as an adhesive versus a sealer. Remember that panel failure in the new Boston big dig tunnel that fell on the car and killed the woman inside? We’ll that was due to a failure of the epoxied bolt attachments used to secure the panel to the tunnel ceiling. Securing thing with epoxy is common in the contruction to save costs and use lighter less bulking fastening materials. Bottom line here I think is being said is that there are places to buy the right materials to help you do the job right for what you’re doing what ever that is. That’s all… So no matter what it is… It’s buyer beware…