I’ve got a question that has always haunted me…On every board I own I have a sanded hot coat and have stayed away from gloss coats because of the supposed added weight and thus less performance. But as I am ordering a new 8’4 fungun I am again thinking of the shiny gloss coat. I know a gloss coat doesn’t make the board stronger but it does seal the pin holes and covers the cloth that is visible in some spots on the rails in a sanded hot coat finish. Plus it looks great and may add a certain degree of toughness. The question is how much weight and thus performace loss would a gloss coat be on the aforemetioned board? Thanks, John
On a board that size, you shouldn’t notice that much of a performance difference. You’re not throwing it around, or are you? You say it is a fun gun anyway, so you will be riding it in bigger surf. The added weight might be to your advantage in dealing with chop on the face, in smaller waves the added momentum from the weight gain won’t hurt either. It sounds like you want the look and feel of the gloss, so why not just go for it? My two cents.
On a board that size, you shouldn’t notice that much of a performance > difference. You’re not throwing it around, or are you? Hmmm…I don’t think so, not in the traditional sense of a shortboard. But would want to be able to throw it around enough to do s-turns, roundhouses, cutbacks, and occ. off the lips. I should point out also that I’, 6’4, 210lbs so maybe weight wouldn’t be that much of concern with turning…My other concern with weight would be loss of paddling speed. But I think we are only talking about 1/2lb here aren’t we? Thanks, John
Gloss is about 9 lbs a gallon. I will let someone determine what quanity they would use on that board. I build longboards only.>>> Hmmm…I don’t think so, not in the traditional sense of a shortboard. But > would want to be able to throw it around enough to do s-turns, > roundhouses, cutbacks, and occ. off the lips. I should point out also that > I’, 6’4, 210lbs so maybe weight wouldn’t be that much of concern with > turning…My other concern with weight would be loss of paddling speed.>>> But I think we are only talking about 1/2lb here aren’t we?>>> Thanks, John http://www.viser.net/~anthwind/
im only 68kg (i dont know what that is in pounds) but i am pretty skinny, anyway i have always had my boards glassed in 6oz cloth bottom and top and get all of them polished on both my short and longboards, it really depends on what type of surfing u are into, cause im more into carving turns rather than flipping, slipping and flapping. so i dont even notice the weight difference.>>> I’ve got a question that has always haunted me…On every board I own I > have a sanded hot coat and have stayed away from gloss coats because of > the supposed added weight and thus less performance. But as I am ordering > a new 8’4 fungun I am again thinking of the shiny gloss coat.>>> I know a gloss coat doesn’t make the board stronger but it does seal the > pin holes and covers the cloth that is visible in some spots on the rails > in a sanded hot coat finish. Plus it looks great and may add a certain > degree of toughness.>>> The question is how much weight and thus performace loss would a gloss > coat be on the aforemetioned board?>>> Thanks, John
I gloss all my boards including shortboards and they all wail. The gloss coat should only be paper thin to begin with before getting cut down by sanding. I recently tricked a friend of mine by not telling him I glossed his new board. He doesn’t know, therefore hasn’t psyched himself out about any misinformation/concepts about glossed boards. He even recently told me the board is “magic”. The only thing that matters is that the board have a nice balanced weight. This is why I never liked ultra low volume noses. They don’t balance out the weight of the fins. I say gloss it. Think of it as waterproofing your board.
I gloss all my boards including shortboards and they all wail. The gloss > coat should only be paper thin to begin with before getting cut down by > sanding. I recently tricked a friend of mine by not telling him I glossed > his new board. He doesn’t know, therefore hasn’t psyched himself out about > any misinformation/concepts about glossed boards. He even recently told me > the board is “magic”. The only thing that matters is that the > board have a nice balanced weight. This is why I never liked ultra low > volume noses. They don’t balance out the weight of the fins. I say gloss > it. Think of it as waterproofing your board. I suppose if a person
s weight was a constant factor, I could understand the concern over a few ounces extra payload. But realistically, just one meal and a glass of water/beverage can often be at least a pound, combined with the fact that our body weight fluctuates 3 to 5 pounds a week and a soggy wetsuit can easily add another 5 pounds... so, if performance is that critical, there are likely many more ounces to be shed by dropping ones body weight, than through the abscence of a gloss coat.
John…slap on the gloss coat! The board will be less permeable to h20 - over time - and it will probably last a tad longer. The extra work (and it IS) is well worth it! (added weight…negligable…if done correctly)…GEEV 'UM! Mr. Miagi say…“wax on, wax off”.