So im ready to glass my old 6’0 which i stripped the glasing off and reshaped it for a " first board to glass"
Ive been seeing threads about using Suncure? What difference are there from glassing with Poly resin other than you have to expose it to sunlight. also where do you usually buy this stuff.
any suggestions and links to any threads regarding the use of Suncure would be great!
thanks!
This is just my two-cents, which is worth less than that, but I think a big advantage is that the resin will only kick when you want it to. This is just something that I’ve learned from doing ding repairs on my own. Plus, now that I’m thinking about it, maybe suncure is a little thicked than resin you need to add harderner to?
sun cure resin is still poly resin just kicked off by UV light instead of catalyst.
also consider epoxy as an alternative to sun cure.
it does give a fixed time (based on the system/hardner) but considerable
more time than poly with catalyst. Plenty of time for a first timer to work.
Gregg’s Resin Research Epoxy is really easy to use.
if you want to buy uv stuff…go on line unless theres someplace that sells it in quanity near you…you can buy it in different forms,powder that you add,uh who knows , and its pretty cheap from what i remember…try foam ez theres tons of places that sell it online
In my opinion, suncure has some advantage compared to “normal” polyester resin:
like said before, you have unlimited working time
you don´t have to waste resin: mix the resin in an opaque container and you can pull out as much resin as needed
it goes off quickly after exposure to sunlight
If you plan to mix your own suncure resin, make sure that the powder is distributed evenly. I found it difficult to do this by shaking the container (as suggested), imho it is easier to stir small batches with a stick.
I just finished my first two boards using Suncure during the lamentation process, and they both came out well. I would definitely suggest it for a first time glasser, simply to allow for more time to get the lamentation process down. It is also supposed to cure much faster ( 24 hours ) once it is exposed to the sun, which means that you can be out riding your new board instead of looking at it in your shed for the next week. Have fun.
So they sell this as powder? Ive read something on the Oregon Surf forums that he glasses it in sections instead of one side of the board like normal. Is this True?
Any of you guys in the LAcounty area? I have no Idea where to buy this stuff.
thanks!
suncure is sold already mixed into the resin, or as a powder additive that you add to uncatalyzed lam resin (in lieu of MEKP). it fulfills the same purpose as MEKP…it’s just activated by UV rays. so long as you keep it out of natural light, it won’t start to kick, and when you do bring it out into direct sunlight (or even just outside on a cloudy day) it will start to kick really fast…you can flip it in 10 minutes.
First off, Suncure is a name of resin, not a type of resin.
As stated before it is simply normal poly resin with the UV powder additivve already mixed in. It is not any thicker than normal poly resin. Also UV cures resin cures in minutes once exposed to UV rays. A logboard can cure in about 5 minutes on a bright sunny day. If it is cloudy it might take as much as an hour or two.
Benefit are trmendous for beginner glassers. Near unlimited working time.
No MEKP ratios to screw up.
Less weather dependent. I’ve glassed in 40 degree weather with the stuff.
Drawbacks are as follows…
You need to catalyse with MEKP for finboxes, leash plugs. Also opague, and very dark tints will not work with UV resin.
Sometimes ona bright sunny day the cure time is so minimal, like a few minutes…that you need to be very careful about cutlaps. Nothing is worse tha hacking through a cutline that is 100% cured.
You should not hotcoat, nor gloss with UV resin.
Best place to orde the stuff is from Fiberglass Hawaii. They have shops in santa Cruz and santa Barbara
Santa Barbara: 221 W. Montecito Street - Ph: [805] 963 1140
where to buy this stuff
one place is http://www.fiberglasssupply.com/Product_Catalog/Polyester_Resins/polyester_resins.html
they have “Solarez Polyester Laminating Resin” (not an endorsement -
have not used it; I use Resin Research Epoxy).
or http://www.fiberglasshawaii.com
I would think that nearly any surf shop/surf board supply place that has
regular poly resin would sell you some brand of sun cure resin. call you
local shop/supplier.
I don’t see any need to do it in sections. Use epoxy or sun cure so you
have plenty of time and do the bottom first and then the deck.
I use UV cure for everything from lams to finish coats. I buy by the 5 gallon can from Fiberglass Hawaii on Colburn Street in Honolulu, about $128 IIRC.
I had heard about the hot coat and finish coat cautions before I used it. I glass in my enclosed garage with the main door down to about two feet off the floor. Still plenty of indirect light coming in to work with. I mix in my home-made surfacing agent, pour it on, spread with brush, long stroke, cross stroke, long stroke with very light pressure. Let it stand about 10 to 15 minutes, then open door and take the board and rack into direct sunlight. 10 minutes of direct and it’s done.
The trick (if it is that) is to let it stand a while for the wax to rise BEFORE you take it into the sun to cure.
As for cut laps, a short time the sun to set the resin, then back into the garage, flip it over onto wax paper, and trimming is easy.
What used to take days (waiting overnight for each batch to cure) now takes under 6 hours. If I shape Saturday afternoon, by Sunday noon the glass is on and one side is hot coated. I usually take a break before routing fin boxes etc., and go surfing or something.
Howzit ModestMouse, The first UV resin I got seemed a little thicker and had a green hue to it, more than non-UV resin, I talked with Fiberglass Hi. about it and they said it took them a while to figure out the right amount of powder and the first batches had more powder then needed. These days it's the same vicosity as non UV resin(less powder). As far as mixing it in to resin I shake the can for a while then roll the tub around the yard for about 10 minutes and it works fine. Aloha,Kokua
Hi Kokua,
Do you have any more info about how much UV cat Fibreglass Hi now use?
I’m having some issues with my free laps being slightly green and therefore noticeable and I think it’s because of one of two things:
Too much UV cat as you have mentioned. The lam resin without the cat is blue and after adding the UV cat which is a yellow powder, it makes it all quite green. I use the recommended amount which is 1 scoop (7ml or 11 grams) per gallon.
I glass in my garage with the door down although I still get some ambient light from a few partially blocked windows. I wondering if I’m getting too much light which is partially kicking my wetted out laps and holding onto a bit of extra resin. The extra resin may cause the green hue. When squeegeeing out my laps though, I’m still getting the nice textured pattern of the cloth showing through so it couldn’t be holding way too much resin.
What do you think?
I’ve done a test layup with some squares of 6oz with UV cat lam resin and MEKP lam resin. I did a very tightly squeegee’d layup and a soaking wet layup for each catalyst type. The results were inconclusive although it looks like UV cat layups may have a slight green tinge.
Attached is a pic of the bottom of my first board with the most noticeable lap line. The laps on my second board were better but still not crystal clear.
Kind Regards,
Matt.
Howzit Matt, Sounds like you are adding the right amount of UV catalyst. Fiberglass Hi. sells their UV resin already mixed and won't sell just the UV powder, but one time they sent me non-UV resin so they sent me some pre measured amounts for 5 gal tub and it was 2 oz per 5 gal. I'm using a blended resin these days but it's still UV activated. Not really sure why you're gettinf the green color unless it's due to to much resin in the rails, but I never had that happen even when FH was using to much UV catalyst. Aloha,Kokua