I have Seabase SpeedCote WB8 - is this the same stuff as Speed Kote which some people have referred to in old threads? https://www.amazon.com/SpeedoKote-SMR-130-75-K-M-Automotive-Clearcoat/dp…
I have a clear board which has been hotcoated and sanded with 240 grit. I have quite a few light burn throughs, and I really don’t want to add weight by doing another hotcoat top and bottom.
I THINK the speedcote is a tough enough finish (as tough as resin?) to put it over now without hotcoating again, does that sound right? Or would it be best to hotcoat and make sure there is zero cloth showing before applying speedcote? It says it can be applied with brush or spray. I have both options but brush will be easier, I want a nice coarse sanded finish, so I assume brushing will be ok. Any tips appreciated. thanks
Hi Helter Again -
I’m gonna go out on a limb here as I don’t know exactly what other people have been discussing or recommending.
If I understand correctly, most of the ‘Speedkote’ stuff on surfboards is an acrylic substance and can be brushed, rolled or sprayed on without needing any type of accelerator or catalyst. I’ve used foam brushes and spray gun. I put on at least two coats, letting it dry between coats. It actually does a pretty fair job of making any sand throughs (not clear through the fiberglass, but where glass weave may be exposed in spots) and doesn’t require super fine sanding as the acrylic will fill in most medium grit sanding marks. You can tell when it’s done the job when trying to decide on how many coats to put on… when it looks smooth and all your sand throughs are covered, let it dry completely. Once dry, you can use a 3M scuff pad and ‘buff’ the whole board out lengthwise. It won’t be shiny but it will have a sanded finish, be smooth, and have a consistent quality to it.
I’ve also seen sprayed on acrylic finish that is left shiny. Herb Spitzer (infamous Swaylocks OG) used to buff them out with compound and get a fair to middlin’ gloss on his boards.
The stuff you’ve found on Amazon (Speed-O-Kote) is a Urethane 2-part automotive finish that is a different animal. If you do a decent fine sand before spraying that stuff, you can spray, let dry for about 15 minutes, hit with another coat, etc. When it’s good and cured (maybe a couple of days?) it can be wet/dry sanded (600-1200 grit) and buffed (3M or Meguiar’s polishing goop) to a showroom finish like what Resinhead does on his boards. You really need to invest in decent respirator equipment with that stuff - it’s hazardous to your health.
PS - In reviewing the Seabase products, it appears that in addition to an acrylic finish(?) (CXM) they are also using a third option - lacquer (White Flash!) They offer a final top coat to be applied over the sanded finish… Quiver Seaflex (Teflon?) Contact them for more details.
Thanks very much John. That was extremely useful.
Yes I wanted it originally to try to help fix a problem, the problem of me panicking every time I see cloth when sanding hot coat! I always put another hot coat over, and sometimes this process goes on and on, i get more rushed, i must push harder on the sand paper, and AAAAAAAGH it all starts again. I think I am doing a fairly good job of making some nice boards, they certainly surf nice, but that final process of finishing (post hot coat) is driving me nuts and its my own fault for two reasons:
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I am WAY too anal (i.e. one 1/4" bit of cloth showing, I sand it all and resin again, I know i know, nuts, but I do not want to use lacquer as that feels like cheatin!)
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I want the board to be very waterproof and durable, not just a thin coat of anything clear to cover the burn throughs, i want a fully sealed board which isn’t to sell, its for family to use, so if it starts to leak in a few months, it’s my job to fix, if its not ruined!
So… the speed cote is what I think Seabase use to speed up production when faced with similar problems. I can see why, I LOVE the idea of lamming, hot coating, sanding, spraying with speedcote and boom, done, with a lovely feel to the finish and a very professional look.
Its very durable i notice, I have used it now (sanded and resprayed 3 times, doh, wont do that again!) and sanding it is a NIGHTMARE! It clogs the paper instantly. But even though that was a mistake, it did show me how durable it is and it seems way tougher than a sanded hot coat would be, so hopefully the boards will be more durable and long-lasting.
Anyway, thanks again for your input, it really helped.
Oh and PS - not heard of the teflon stuff, will take a look. thanks again
Hi Helter -
I did a recent repair on a friend’s board and he wasn’t sure what the finish was. I couldn’t tell by eyeballing it so I called the store that represents the label. The guy behind the counter who picked up the phone seemed pretty clueless (“UHHH… This is just the showroom, not the factory…”) but when I explained why I was asking he fessed up…
Turns out it is a simple acrylic floor finish wipe down followed by 3M scuff pad. The concept of acrylic floor finishes has been discussed here at length and if you think about it… it has to be fairly tough stuff. That said, it does need to be ‘refreshed’ once in awhile.
I think if you checked out a run-of-the-mill surfboard factory, you would be shocked at what you see. There are any number of tricks in covering those little sand throughs.
Here’s one - spray some rattle can clear coat over the sand through. It disappears, seals and can be wet/dry sanded or scuff padded to blend in with the rest of the board.
There are a couple of reasons why a true double-sided buffed-out gloss coat adds a hefty premium to a new board price. It adds a lot of work and it doesn’t take much to add even more to that workload if someone fucks it up. I’ve seen brand new boards by top brand labels with contract glass jobs with all kinds of boo boos… pin holes to the foam, sand throughs to the stringer covered only with gloss resin, pin lines ‘patched’ in after the wet sand/polisher got carried away.
Don’t be too picky and don’t be too hard on yourself.
https://www.swaylocks.com/forums/alternative-to-future-floor-polish
https://www.swaylocks.com/groups/acrylic-finish-procedure
Another great post, thanks very much for your time here John.
“Don’t be too picky and don’t be too hard on yourself.” - Ha, I totally get your point and it’s a valid one, trouble is a leapard can’t change its spots and i just can’t aim for anything less than perfect! Not suggesting I have, or perhaps ever will, GET there! But that’s where I am aiming. When I decided to save money on shop boards for my kids and family members all who surf a lot, I decided I didn’t want to make them boards, I wanted to make boards BETTER than the ones they are buying. I sort of had to do that as they wont use them if they at least as good as the ones in the shops, and with the lack of the fashionable brand names on my boards, they kinda need to be noticeably better in the water (made more for the shape and surfing style of the user, not a “better” board necessarily!)
That said, I know I need to understand the stuff I am going through is what shops go through too, its all part of making boards, and I am exploring ways to cover it up, but after reading your post, I think I will go back to my old way and just keep improving my sanding/finishing skills with the pure method of lam then hotcoat (and gloss in most cases).
My son took out his new shortboard (finished with Speedcote) and he loved it, said it went like a train and felt lovely in the water. I think I may use that again but only on clear (no colour) short boards, if trying to keep it as light as possible (i do heavy glass jobs to try to make the boards last a bit longer).
Once again, really appreciate your input