Hey there been lurking all over but couldnt quite find what im looking for. its time to get my longboard glasses and ive seen different opinions on gloss coats. some say it makes the board stronger and others say it gets cracks on the bottom over time due to not being as flexable. im going to have it done in volan and i ive heard volan looks bad with a sanded finish. but i really dont want a cracked gloss coat. what i figured might work is having the board glassed with volan and sanded finish then wet sanding it down myself to 400 or so and applying polish. this will also be more cost effective and hopfully my board will last longer. is this the best way to do this?any thoughts or suggestions would be very appriciated!
Glosscoats do not add any strength. If you want shiney aesthetics, then use a gloss. Hotcoat alone cannot be sanded and polished to a high degree of gloss without cutting into the weave somewhere. That’s why a glosscoat is used is used over it. 600 grit is the minimum for a polished gloss. Properly mixed glosscoats do not easily crack unless this is a thin HP longboard. Sand-finished volan is a waste of effort and money.
Too much unreinforced resin is what increases the chances of cracking, the large weave of 8 or 10oz Volan is also a contributor. Doesn’t matter if its too much hotcoat or too much gloss or a combination. What ever you choose to do just don’t pile up resin and sand everything tight.