First off I would like to thank everyone here for the info I was able to get while I was working on my board. I only found this site after I had started working, but it has helped me quite a bit.
I have just finished my first board, using XPS (DOW 2# 2" blue board) and epoxy resin. While not perfect and not made in completely conventional ways(the glassing and hotcoat were ugly looking and rough so I put on a high build primer to even it out and then painted it with auto paint), it is pretty good looking, and as I found out this past week in Nova Scotia(east coast Canada) it works too! I will get some friends of mine who are more experienced surfers to give it a try soon and get their opinions on it as well.
It really has been a fun and rewarding experience, one that I will definitely repeat.
A little advice to anyone out there who is going to go the same route. If you are laminating together sheets of foam (XPS or EPS) make sure to not put the laminating resin right out to the edges or over the areas where your rocker will cross. While the shape that I made (tracing of a friends board) was a little bigger and ‘softer’ than the original; I couldn’t figure out how to get accurate measurements of the deck and bottom contours so I under shaped rather than over shaped; the biggest errors that I got were in the nose; tail and rails where the epoxy resin ‘glue line’ was. That stuff is really hard and makes sanding those areas very tricky and messy.
I am planning on doing some more over the winter, though my idea this time is to get some Clark blanks. What I would like to do is get about 4 blanks and make another funboard like the one I just made(7’6") and a longboard, a short (performance) board and maybe a retro fish. (love the way they look, would like to try riding one)
I am still pondering on whether I will use Epoxy resin or not on the next boards. While it was pretty easy to do the laminating with it, it is expensive stuff and the ‘hotcoat’ was troublesome with 'fish eyes’amd pinholes. Any advice on this would be appreciated. In case you’re wondering I got the epxoy from a local boat shop. They had ‘West System’, but I went with ‘Miapoxy’ , it is made here in Montreal for the aerospace industry and it was cheaper. The stuff worked well, though I would not use a slow hardener next time(way too long cure times), and surprisingly it actually cured out clear.
Hey, fellow first boarder. I also just finished my first board , a 6’-4" “performance fish,” for want of a better term. I did mine with Greg Loehr’s Resin Research epoxy. I highly recommend it. It is slightly pricey ($108 for 1.5 gallons), but they charged nothing to ship and I had half left over when I was done with the board. Not only do I have half left over, but I used more than the recommended amounts thinking I was a newbie and all (see epoxy construction primer in resources section). So really it is not that expensive. And after four go outs on the board I have not seen even the slightest sign of pressure dings on the deck ( 6oz + 4oz s-glass on deck). For me (and my boney knees) that is miraculous.
Mine sanded really easy (I eyeballed the additvie F and probably erred on the side of generosity). When I did the hot coat I was watching it percolate and bubble and freaking out thinking the board was ruined, but when the hotcoat finally set it was smooth as my baby’s bottom (see attachments with my post “first board”). I’m just totally stoked on the stuff and I’m calling the surfboard industry wimps for avoiding it (I could not find a single glassing shop in Los Angeles that would glass in epoxy). I did tints, dark tints no less, and had no problems. Cure time while laminating with the regular hardener was about 45 minutes in 75 degree weather, plenty of time. after 45 minutes it was just slightly starting to gel but I was done by then. Just follow the instructions in resources . I did seal the blank with spackle as per Greg’s instructions. You can call Greg if you have questions. Their customer support was great! That was a big plus for me- speaking to a surf legend, East Coast surf champ and all.
Hey llilibel. Sounds good. I’ve got some bony knees myself (6’4" , 165lbs.) so we’ll see how mine goes too. Though it should go well; because it is a stringerless XPS I did a glass job of 2x6oz bottom and 2x6+6oz deck patch top. (it’s not S-glass… next time)
The price isn’t too bad if you only used half the resin. I’ll have to find out if it is easy to get it to Canada.
How did your tints work out? I’ve seen some nice looking boards on swaylocks with tints and would like to try some myself.
Hey, I did a light green swirl on the bottom that came out nice. I could have put more tint in , but, being my first I was cautious about everything. The deck is dark green. It was hard to get it perfectly uniform. I didn’t want to squeegee to hard, as the word is if you squeegee too hard the epoxy will turn frothy. When the resin went off however you could barely see the splotches. In fact, with wax it is impossible to tell. Next time I will go with lighter tints though. I actually wanted a light blue deck, but I could not find a local supplier. All I found was green.
Remember to mix the hardener first then add the tint. The word is that the mix ratio and mixing thoroughly are crucial with epoxy so I followed the instructions and it all went well. I did spackle the finished shape and I’m sure that helped keep the tint uniform.
I’m hooked. I can’t wait to make my next board.
By the way, the last issue of Surfer’s Journal had some sweet shots of Canada, eh?
A couple tips about the epoxy situation in Canada… this should be worth your time if your using Mia.
Retire the Miapoxy(or build a boat or a longboard skateboard with it)- Miapoxy has cost me more money to fix than to buy better stuff in the first place. I have used it extensively and found that it is only good if used in a thick lam (ie. more than 12oz.), or in a closed lam (ie. berts sandwich style construction when laming the skin). Any thinner and it takes sometimes weeks to cure (even with fast hardener!), and when it does cure you’ll get more amine blush then cured epoxy! I talked to the guys who own Mia and they basically told me it wasn’t properly formulated as its a brand new product and still needs the bugs to be taken out… remember anything thats cheap in the composites world, is cheap for a reason!
If you still want to use this epoxy on a surfboard just to get rid of it, I suggest you use it to laminate a eps/or xps board that requires a thicker lam. Then when it comes time to hotcoat, use a different epoxy system (SB112, SP115, or RR).
I’ve searched for decent epoxy system in basically every composite store in Canada. So far the best is Composites Canada- out of Missisauga, On. They sell Systems Three SB112 1.5gal. kits for $196.00CAD. If you can find a cheap way to get RR up to Canada, go for it…
Hey, fellow first boarder. I also just finished my first board , a 6’-4" “performance fish,” for want of a better term. I did mine with Greg Loehr’s Resin Research epoxy. I highly recommend it. It is slightly pricey ($108 for 1.5 gallons), but they charged nothing to ship and I had half left over when I was done with the board. Not only do I have half left over, but I used more than the recommended amounts thinking I was a newbie and all (see epoxy construction primer in resources section). So really it is not that expensive. And after four go outs on the board I have not seen even the slightest sign of pressure dings on the deck ( 6oz + 4oz s-glass on deck). For me (and my boney knees) that is miraculous.
Mine sanded really easy (I eyeballed the additvie F and probably erred on the side of generosity). When I did the hot coat I was watching it percolate and bubble and freaking out thinking the board was ruined, but when the hotcoat finally set it was smooth as my baby’s bottom (see attachments with my post “first board”). I’m just totally stoked on the stuff and I’m calling the surfboard industry wimps for avoiding it (I could not find a single glassing shop in Los Angeles that would glass in epoxy). I did tints, dark tints no less, and had no problems. Cure time while laminating with the regular hardener was about 45 minutes in 75 degree weather, plenty of time. after 45 minutes it was just slightly starting to gel but I was done by then. Just follow the instructions in resources . I did seal the blank with spackle as per Greg’s instructions. You can call Greg if you have questions. Their customer support was great! That was a big plus for me- speaking to a surf legend, East Coast surf champ and all.
I’ll never have a poly board again.
my last 1.5gal set i did a 6’8" a 7’0" and a 9ft longboard with 1.5gal
Thanks for the info on epoxy. The cure time is exactly what happened to me; the hotcoats took days to cure.
If as J.Troy says it is possible to get 3 boards out of a 1.5 gal. kit, then the cost does look a little more reasonable for the System Three; I will also look into getting RR into Canada, maybe by using a drop off point at the border. That’s how I figure on getting blanks without paying 200$+ for shipping.
On an aside, I’ve been figuring on keeping an eye on the great lakes, like maybe if the weather was right doing a road trip to catch some waves. Where is the best place to look online for the weather/swell info? Or what are some good places to ride? You don’t have to give up your secret spots or anything, just what areas are good. Montreal is pretty close to lake Ontario, but even some of the other lakes would be a nice few day road trip.
I’ve never surfed the east end of Lake Ontario, but I know others do. Best way to find a spot is to simply look at the forcaster, see where the swells at, and go scouting…
If you want to drive slightly longer, you could check out the following more popular/consistant breaks- Burlington Bridge(West Ontario), Port Colbournes beaches (East Erie), Bayfield (south central Huron). Again those are just a few of the more popular spots; do a good road trip when the forcaster is reading decent swell for a couple days, and you’ll be bound to find decent surf somewhere. And to give you heads up, the decent sized swells start coming in this month…
I take it your from Montreal? If so, you probably surf the Expo standing wave? From the pics I’ve seen it looks like alot of fun!
I surf the eastern part of lake ont…check out big sandy bay on a sw wind after it has beenblowing for like 15 knts for at least 2 days…you will be surprised with what you find…as well behind the dupont plant can get ok…
I as well am working on my first board and right now i am looking for epoxyies …i have put in a 1/4 bass wood stringer into it for strength…i may have to break down and get a planer though…helps things go faster…yeah so how is that standing wave in mntrl I have heard good things!!!give us a report!!!=)
Hey sapper. Is big sandy bay in or near Sand Banks prov. park? I think I saw that one on a GL surf site and I have a friend who lives near there. Was checking the swell this morning and I wish I could go check it out today. >
looks like it would be nice on that end of lake Ontario, not to mention Huron.
As for the standing wave here in Mtl. I have not yet riden it. I have talked with a couple of guys who have, they said it’s pretty cool, and I actually ran into a few guys who were walking out of the river a month ago, they paddle a 1/2 mile out into the Lachine rapids where they said there are all kinds of standing waves. (it’s a regular haunt for kayakers)
I wonder about the pollution sometimes:-), but I’ll let everyone know when I do get into the river.
For ther moment the swell in the NE of the US looks nice for this weekend!
As boards go, I’m looking to see how cheap/expensive it is to get Clark blanks in canada. Anyone use them?
