Ok,
I’ve been thinkin just recently, is epoxy valid as an alternative to poly ?
I repair boards for a living and the number of creased,and broken epoxies appears to be way more than poly’s ?
Not to mention delams…
Not tryin to shitcan anyone, just an observation…
Yeah, they do seem strong for their weight,but…
did the boards that were glassed with epoxy have stringers?
Yes some did, most not. Again, not wanting to bag anyone,{pardon the pun}
I hav been repairin more snapped epoxies than poly’s…
Epoxy over EPS or Epoxy over PU foam? Maybe the core is the problem. Epoxy is superior to PU for dings. Since it is more flexible than polyester resin, it dents rather than fractures.
Big name boards? I find most of those are soft as a sponge. I like to look at the shapes, but i always lightly squeeze the rails. Soooo many of the big name boards are weak before they are glassed, and then 4x44 doesnt help.
I find epoxy over p/u foam to be extremely durrable. With epoxy over EPS, its the foam that is the problem.
Most not having stringers could be the problem. I prefer PU/PE because I do not like the way eps/epoxy feels, but this is merely my opinion
i like epoxy, i dont not like eps. I find eps boards to be quarky, and epoxy/pu boards are very strong and light which is nice.
I think the question is like “Is Ford better than Chevrolet?” Not all epoxy boards are alike. I will never go back to poly because, with the right build, epoxy is much stronger than poly. And doesn’t smell half as much.
the quiestion is wrong, is poly still valid…
if i take bad builds like wrong installed fin fixtures or molded 2part boards where deck and bottom part ways out allmost every repair i have is poly.
in fact my ep customer are coming back and ordering more ep boards for its strength.
salu2
uzzi
Well said Uzzi…
To some , poly is hard to let go of…Old habits die hard… To others epoxy is wonderful stuff… With resin like RR CE and K.K why would you bother with poly?
You get a stronger part or board… There’s no question…If someone prefers the floatation and feel of PU foam, that’s fine, but the choice of resin is a no-brainer…
Ask the aviation / aerospace guys which is stronger… They know better than we… I still want to try Resin X though…")
I repair more epoxy too, just because shops don’t like to repair then.
In fact eps/epoxy are more durable than PU/PE if they are well made. That is to say no stringers and good lam. Stringer in good build eps/epoxy is more a problem than a solution.
Before i surf eps/epoxy, i made pu/pe, boards live one year max, guys who ride my boards too. My first epoxy (stringer or stringerless) resist more to dings but some brake too. Wood sandwich deck are more durable, my last stringerless seems to be durable too.
I work for industry, epoxy is use for HP composits, poly for cheap composits, you’ll never see an airplane structural part made with poly. Competitive boat are made with epoxy, ski too, not poly.
Most “big name” epoxy hand lam are made as PU/PE, with ultra light lam and no “epoxy care”, it’s shit. Here in France some guys make them right for long time and you can find old used boards in good condition, just uggly yellow. I see and hydroflex resist to test that no poly boards, even with ultra strong lam, can never resist…
Sorry for my frenglish
i just make my own boards but epoxy kk over pu (xtra blank) is the buisness, solid as. the only thing that may challenge that is a bic. eps is crap!! plus the hassle to cut it, glue it, ahhhhhhhhhhhh! and for very little difference in final price, that’s just my opinion though, some will argue otherwise.
i guess it’s the eps that is the problem, gives little support to the shell.
great question silverbak
can i open a can of worms…?
the factory application of epoxy is different to ours i suspect…
how much epoxy needs to be in these boards,
to be called epoxy boards…
the number of other layars these boards have
( which dont bond perfectly,
as the amount of delamination’s
, even in smaller waves suggest),
would leave little room for the sticky stuff…
how do they do it
clever marketing.
big names(how many actually ride those boards i wonder),
and the need for the masses to believe in something…
false gods
but it aint down to the sticky stuff…
so how do we compete…
a rocker bank…! to be able replicate any rocker thoughout history…
and it would be easy…
but the best shapers in the business would have to let go of their pearls…for the greater good
sways is the place this could happen
how?
post your special rockers,pro’s favourites etc
5 measurements would suffice,
nose,tail,a foot from nose and tail,and apex
unite in this cause
or forever be damned in a world soon to be filled with pop outs,
and surf magnates,rich on the backs of cheap third world labour…
ambrose…
what do you think,
could it work…?
Hey G Dog… An openly accessible rocker bank would be cool !.. No doubt !
But non of these greedy “surf magnates” are going to 'give up their secret dimensions / formulations to save the world…")
There are ways of making epoxy surfboards nearly indestructible … Look at the Hydroflex model… If you can impregnate the eps core with thousands of vertical glass fibers, delamination situations will never materialize…
I’m looking into such “impregnated” types of construction… aka … 3D glass layups…
Come on guys… We have 3 D everything else… lol
Epoxy Resins form the “base point” to the equation…
slightly OT but is it valid safety wise? Like kiteboarder says poly is hard to let go of. But the styrene and acetone killing me.
Few epoxy/pu I've done turned out to be good boards. Still get some yellowing without laying down color.
Remember smoking buckets of the old kine when the hardener got old and was reddish black, still sensitized I think.
Without specifying foam densities, glass schedules and construction methods, terms like "Epoxy" or "Poly" mean little.
I still hear guys say "This is an 'Epoxy' board."
I dismiss them as know-nothings. Unless they are ready to discuss details, about which they are likely clueless, there is no point.
buzz word John. I used the fiberglass hawaii ( aluzine? 2:1) epoxy resin for both laminating and fill coat over Surfblanks green.Red cedar 9/16" stringer. 6oz. S bottom, 6 / 4 E deck with 4 S patches. weight came in lighter than anticipated. Had to set plugs and boxes in two steps because of exotherm but whatever. So far working.
Hi maka -
I didn't mean you personally and my reply was general. Your specs make sense though.
silver’’
here in aus itll be the core (e p s) that is shit
good urathane and epoxy are making some good stuff depends who does it? i guess
** cheers huie
**