Is there any point in hotcoating or glossing a flex fin? Wo’nt they just develop surface cracks in time?
yeah. I watched a guy bending a brand new one to demonstrate the flexibility of it.You could hear the noise,and then he had all these little lines in it. The Rusty models I’ve ordered in the past are sanded finishes,made with 4oz layers to flex good.Gloss is brittle.
Fairmount had a posting about all the stress lines in his board, same thing, the resin is VERY inflexible. Most stress lines are in the resin only, until water starts to creep down into them and very slowly get to the foam. This is why when I read about flex in boards, if it flexes enough to feel the results, your in trouble
If you use other materials than the poly/PU combo, there should not be a problem. I mean, skies and snowboards flex WAAAAAAY more then any surfboard and last for decades. Maybe a polyurethane based varnish will cover a flex fin without getting those stress cracks. regards, Håvard