any ideas on what to use if i have no access to finish coat resin… i have silmar 249 , styrene, wax, cobalt… what else can i use to get that formula right…
Silmar 249 + 5 to 10% wax styrene for me. Better with iso resin.
Hey Feraldave, here´s what I use for gloss coat:
Resin
20% styrene
2 % wax
mix it
3 drops of cobalt
4,5 % catalyst
Sorry Feraldave, made a mistake!
The correct formula that I use is:
150g Resin
20% styrene
2 % wax
mix it
2 drops of cobalt
3.5 % catalyst
Wish I could get the products that you guys have... here in Brazil we don't have top quality resins and cloth! As I'm using much more epoxy resin now, i'm thinning the epoxy with alcohol to do the gloss coat. Do you have any better tip?
Cheers
Marcos Pereira i have few questions for you hahahaha
what kind of wax do you use for it?
cobalt … never heard. what’s the point of it?
thanks
Hey ColinIG, the wax it´s actually a wax solution, you can buy at the shop or do yourself by cutting some little pieces of candle (yes, but take the white ones hahaha) and put in a pot with styrene, close it and let it dissolve for a few days. This is essential to make a smooth surface on the hot coat and the gloss coat, helps a lot to sand as well…
For the hot coat here´s my formula:
200g Resin
15% styrene
1,5% wax
3 drops of cobalt
3 % catalyst
The cobalt it´s used to kick faster the bath! Ask where you buy the resin for these products and use in your next poliester glass… you´ll be very happy with the results!
Cheers
Lotsa luck getting cobalt in the USA. I went in to Fiberglass Hawaii one day (years ago now) and asked for some. Both Ted and Jim looked me over, rolled their eyes and declined to sell me any unless I bought a large amount.
I wanted it for pin lines. I would only use a few drops at a time, so VERY few of us would ever want a pint or so of the stuff.
use the Search function, the chemistry and effects have been discussed here before. Heck, everything you would ever want to know has pretty much been discussed here or beaten to death… Twice.
They told me something about cobalt plus MEKP or something being used to make bombs (They or their pals did so, apparently, not me).
But someone from their shop is online here so I bait them to comment…
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a colision between colbalt and mkep. Very small amounts made a hell of a flash and a lot of smoke.
Just “twice”? I think your math is a little off.
Please gentlemen, let´s make surfboards, not bombs… =)
feral dave what is a finish coat
and how many do you have to buy can you get one big one or heaps of small ones
can i get three hollow bottom parrabollic vanere cork tops vacumed to a double sided foil sidecut halfmoon
Methyl methacrylate is the crosslinking agent that provides optical clarity, shine and hardness. All the stuff everyone else desribes is hot coat resin.
Also getting a pint of cobalt isn’t hard to do, any supply house can, and it will last quite a while; I add it to my directly to my surfacing agent to spice things up.
Surf Supply (Fiberglass Source) in Oceanside sells it. I believe it comes in two strengths.
Ghetto is right. Gloss resin is more clear and harder.(for polishing purposes).
You can make Hotcoat shine. It’s just not as shiny or clear. I’ve found it too soft and sands a little too easy.
Some mix the two together.
All the best “Show shine” polished surfboards are done with straight Richhold Gloss resin.
Marcos Pereira thanks a lot.
The one i use for the hot coat is from the shop i buy the resin, but the problem is that sometimes they dont have it and i have to wait too much.
I will try to make my own surface agent.
Can u please tell me what’s the percent of wax vs styren I have to mix?
It’s only mix the wax with the styren or do i have to heat up. I heard about people who heat up the mix for a better dissolve of the wax. Is that true?
thx mate
Hey ColinIG, you´re welcome… I´ve made with half candle stick cut in little pieces and about 100 ml of styrene. Just leave it resting for a couple days =)
thanks again, i’m gonna search a place where sells styrens and make a try … nothing to lose
i’ll post my feedbacks here