Jim, you posted a while back about sealing EPS with a thin coat of epoxy. I meant to ask for details, and now I’m just getting around to it. Can you shed some light on your method and why it is better than light weight spackle (which I assume it is)? many thx
If you mean sealing the foam prior to laminating, what I do is mix up some epoxy/3m bubbles so that it is thick like mayonaise or or a little thicker, then apply it with a plastic squeegee. Then use the squeegee to scrape off as much as possible so it’s just filling the pores in the foam, then laminate.
Keeps the weight down and the bond between the glass and foam will be vastly superior. If you have to fill in any imperfections in the blank you can wait untill the epoxy starts to gel before laminating.
Greg Loehr actually reported that not sealing the blank would be a little stronger… IMHO it’s an unneccesery extra step unless you’re extremly picky about the weight of your board. I also question how much weight you actually save, you could just as well use the same amount of extra resin when you lam as when you seal.
regards,
Håvard
Yep …if you are trying to save weight then seal,otherwise I would leave it alone and go for a stronger bond. As was said by Havaard, GL and his crew told me the same thing…stronger with a little more weight. I skip that step now…have fun…peace and waves…
Wouldn’t the normal spackle coat be much simpler and still serve the same purpose?
Just make sure to let it dry completly.
I don’t use any micro balloons added to my epoxy, I don’t blow off the blank before I start, just keep it free of hand prints. It takes about 3 ounces of Resin Research epoxy to seal the bead foam and the styro dust mixes into an excellent putty that chemically bonds to the foam.(I feel that using spackle, fills, but maynot get that chemical bond, the board I snapped at Sunset had the glass locked onto it) A sanding and it’s ready, but I put on a second sealer that lays as smooth as linoleum and give that another light sanding.
I tried to lam without sealing and had blow problems, but since taking the time to seal the blank has more than benifitted my efforts. Ultra tight/dry lams with no draining or pin air. Spend minutes, save hours
3oz. for how big a board? is that per side?
Thanks
Many thx, as usual
I can get an 8 footer from 3 ounces. I keep collecting small tubs, one of the better is an apple sauce tub. Two resin…one hardner, a longboard lam, at first I was blowing it on my resin amounts, poured lots in the drain bucket. Can’t do that at $55.00 a gal