I am a few days away from laminating a board with S-glass using RR epoxy. I have been digging through the S-glass posts here and have seen suggestions that S-glass is harder wrap the laps, sand, and finish but I am having trouble finding direct recommendation, tips, and techniques for actually using S-glass such as best materials to sand with or tips to get the laps right, etc. I am hoping someone with lots of S-glass experience could summarize what is needed to know about executing an S-glass board. If this has already been posted I’d appreciate a reference to the right thread.
I’ve used s glass on about 4 boards (I’m a backyarder). I never really noticed any difficulties in lapping etc. What I have noticed and will warn you about is that if you use color the sand throughs will show and will not go away.
At the moment I am using the 4 oz aeriallite S cloth and have not found anything different from standard Ecloth apart from being very white and a bit stronger and a shitload more expensive. Wets out extremely well, laps the same and sands the same.
I haven’t used it but I’ve read that s-glass fuzzes if you sand into the weave.
Could you confirm or deny that observation?
Howzit rhodesengr, I have to say that I've used S glass many times (with poly not epoxy) and had no problems wrapping rails. In fact I find it more user friendly than other types of fiberglass, Just becareful when sanding.Aloha,Kokua
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has replied to this and my other posts. Its been really helpful. I once had a friend who said “If you have thought about doing something, you are a proferssional. If you have done it once, you are an expert.” This has turned out to be true for the most part. I don’t want to totally botch my first board and I think the info here has made some form of success highly likely.
That’s why we are here, to help people like you. Aloha,Kokua
Hey…
With the “S” glass I’ve used I’ve seen no definable difference with the working details. In fact at first, I questioned whether I’d “accidentally” been charged three times more for the wrong stuff…
The difference shows up when you filler coat it…the weave is very much more visible. Certainly not unsightly and not to be confused with any plainly bad lamination. It does’nt disturb me.
The extra strength is reportedly to do with the manufacturing process:- the basic equation being the clearer it is the weaker…the undesirable opacity or colour being the very thing which is strongest on a chemical level, and this seems to go for glass fabric, resin AND PU foam…
So bring on Honey-brown surfboards!
Josh
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Hey Speedy,
The real reason that S-glass weave is more visible than E-glass with the common laminating resins (epoxy or PE) has as much to do with physics as chemistry (It is directly related to a well known scientific law that was first described in about 984 AD. Can you tell that I’m a fan of arcane scientific trivia?). But you are right in thinking that there is a give and take between strength (or really overall performance) and the aesthetically pleasing clarity that is so coveted. That give and take is usually based on price. In other words, to get the same physical/structural performance but with better cosmetics almost invariably costs more to make.
Rob