Soft Deck?

I am sure there can be many causes to this but thought I would go to the BB for some discussion. What can attribute to the deck to being soft and getting pressure dings too easily? I figured this could be contributed to any number of things such as: - Improper catalyst to resin ratio? - Sanding process on hot coat was done incorrectly? I.e. Sanded to fast and the coat got to hot and caused the lam to break down some how? Sanded too much of the hot coat off? (did not ever see any glass weave but maybe still sanded too much) - Did not let board cure long enough after finished? What is the recommended final cure time for a board? I used a 6oz and a 4oz layer on the deck? Should I have gone with two 6oz layers for more strength? Like I said it may be any, all or none of these but would like to have some input of things to watch out for. I am getting ready to glass my next board and just wanted to get some input. Thanks in advance, Mike

click the link below http://www.harboursurfshop.com/design.html#curing

one possible reason could be that you took to much foam off the top of the blank.

The source cited states: “Conversely, heat can greatly accelerate the curing process. Your board, exposed to about 120 degrees heat for several hours, will be thoroughly cured. Surfboards that are already cured cannot be made stronger by this process. Reliable sources tell me that this rapid cure actually increases the strength. Be very careful not to let the board get over 130 degrees. Resin actually begins to soften at 150 degrees.” What are thoughts of exsposing a board additional heat during the curring process. i.e. Here in Florida this could easily be done by exposing the board to the mid day summer sun but would this really add to the strength of the board as stated? Does anyone actual do this to help accelerate the cure process and strengthen boards? Thanks, Mike>>> click the link below

I live in FL as well and in the winter time I will stick fresh boards in my car with the windows up. You want to get the heat up without direct exposure to UV. A friend of mine does autobody work and they have a heated booth were they cook the fresh paintjobs in. He does this from time to time in the winter as well. In the summer it is not really necessary for us. The sheds we glass in get pretty hot during the day (around 110). If you can control your light source, all this can be avoided by using UV resin. It works well. Good luck to you.

say i have the boards in a garage that stays around 90. how long is a good wait before being able to ride it? a week after glassing?

Hey thanks for the input… looks like I should invest in a black metal coffin and place it in the middle of my yard. This should help the cure process and really get the neighbors wondering! Mike>>> I live in FL as well and in the winter time I will stick fresh boards in > my car with the windows up. You want to get the heat up without direct > exposure to UV. A friend of mine does autobody work and they have a heated > booth were they cook the fresh paintjobs in. He does this from time to > time in the winter as well. In the summer it is not really necessary for > us. The sheds we glass in get pretty hot during the day (around 110).>>> If you can control your light source, all this can be avoided by using UV > resin. It works well. Good luck to you.

An interesting write up on curing time, courtesy Dave Parmenter. http://content.surfline.com/sw/content/mag/shapers/forum/ham.jsp

An interesting write up on curing time, courtesy Dave Parmenter. It sounds to me the foam you used was open cell or just soft, Or just shit foam. The foam i use to blow would feel hard until you take the skin off, The cells would be tight but soft. The foam we now have is hard all the way, My shaping machine take 1/2 to 1" of the bottom and the foam is still hard,The surf form has a hard time cutting it and it is harder to shape all the scratches out of the foam, But the blanks do not ding like the old foam,So it sounds so me like the foam you got is no good. All the best Rabbit http://Southcoastfoam.com.au

As rabbit said you need good foam.I took 7/8" off the bottom of a 9’8" blank from south coast. All the cells were tight and foam was still nice and hard.Consider giving the aussie foam a go, our dollar is so weak at the moment they’ll be cheap as chips in US Dollars…