I found this artical from the maker of Coda Foam blanks – interesting discussion about the manufacturing process Styro-Epoxy. However, the suggested use of drywall spackling to flatten the deck seamed somewhat out of place in what is often positioned as the “more high-tech” approach to board building – but, hey, there is always more than one way to skin a cat. Shine FYI>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> A Few Tips on Styro-Epoxy Construction By Steve Forstall Shaping - Place your board on the blank from the tip or back it up an inch or two for desired rocker. When cutting the outline, cut close to your pencil line, very little foam will be lost in the fine sanding of your outline. Styrofoam blanks can be shaped with your planer with blades, but a grit drum may be more desirable. If you tear the foam, don’t freak out. These rips can be filled in with lightweight drywall spackling. Usually I only take the shape to 40 grit, then spackle in the whole blank with slightly watered down spackling. My favorite brands are DAP exterior drywall spackling, Creamy Formula and Red Devil Spackling. If you’re filling in deep rips, let this application dry thoroughly, then spackle it one more time. Fine sand your blank with 180 or 220 screen and your ready for glassing. Glassing - Usually a 6-ounce single layer bottom and a double 6-ounce deck is sufficient. A double 7 ½ ounce deck is extremely strong and doesn’t add that much weight if added strength is desired. Instead of filling your lap, use a sander with 80 grit. You will find that it sands great, doesn’t clog sandpaper and will allow you to get a true rail shape. Try to glass your bottom and deck within the same 24 hours for best epoxy binding. Hot Coating - There is a couple of ways to apply a sanding coat to your lamination. First, pre-sand the lamination. This will smooth out your lap and knock off any burs that would cause roughness. You’ll be surprised at how well the lamination sands. Next, wash the board with denatured alcohol or DuPont Prep-Sol 3919S (available at your local DuPont dealer.) Your board can be hot coated with epoxy, but it is hard to get a nice finish because epoxy can’t be fine sanded. If you use Sun Cure Polyester Resin, apply a thin layer of laminating resin first, flash cure it for 20-30 seconds, then hot coat on top of that. (I like to use a plastic bondo spreader for the laminating resin coat.) FCS Installation - When drilling with the hole saw, use high speed and light pressure. This insures a clean cut. Be sure that the hole is slightly shallower than normal to avoid epoxy “mass heating.” You can modify an old hole saw with a grinding wheel to get a “thinner H pattern wall.” This will also help maintain less :mass: which could cause over heating. To get the best results with epoxy installation of FCS, it’s a good idea to have the board, the resin, and working environment at 80 degrees or less.
I stopped by Resin Reserch in Fl to buy some epoxy one time and watched a guy competely cover a board with spackling before glassing.
Glassing - Usually a 6-ounce single layer bottom and a double 6-ounce deck > is sufficient. A double 7 ½ ounce deck is extremely strong and doesn’t add > that much weight if added strength is desired. It’s no wonder so many epoxy delams are showing up. At least two layers of 6 oz glass on bottom, and three layers of 6 oz on top are REQUIRED! I use 3 and 4 layers.>>> then spackle in the whole blank with slightly watered down spackling. Mix spackling with PURIFIED water or you will be painting your board dirty brown. It’s no wonder there are so many complaints about epoxy boards! -Noodle