Needless to say I was very stoaked to see that you have discovered this site. Someone with long term knowledge of eps and epoxy was the only element missing on this site, in my humble opinion. I’ve shaped and glassed a handful of blanks from you (I got them through Buddah Bonifay in Daytona), although I have never used your resin. I have been using the SS 2000 from surf source, with mixed results. I am curious to try your resin and the F additive on my next epoxy (believe me there has been quite a bit of discussion in the past on epoxy lamination with poly hot coat - the whole bannana peel effect). Just a couple of questions: In laymen’s terms, is the F additive just something added to your epoxy resin which acts like wax solution on a poly board? Similar ratios compared to poly? My next question is about the difference in buoyancy between PU and EPS. I have read here in the past that these two types of foam distribute their buoyancy differently. PU foam distributes its buoyancy toward the stringer (like wood) and EPS distributes its buoyancy toward the rail? Although I don’t really understand that it seems to make sense based on past experience. I weigh in at around 200 lbs. and don’t really like the long turning radius of boards say in the 7’ to 8’ x", and am not really into long boards. I like to make and ride short boards, fishes, mini eggs, etc. with full boxy rails. My first eps board I shaped, I ordered a 6’6", 3" thick. I wanted to cut some of the rocker out of it and come out with a flat thick corky board in the 6’ range. I got the blank home and relized it was only 2.5" thick. I made a 6’4" egg out of it, kept a lot of the volume in the rail and left them boxy. When riding this shape I could not keep the rail buried in the face of the wave. It wanted to sit on top of the water. I have done plenty of polys with thick rails and never had a problem setting the rail, bottom turning etc. So after hearing about the difference in buoyancy distribution in eps foam, it kind of made sense to me, but not really. I like the light weight & strength of eps and epoxy construction, but the whole buoyancy thing has got me a bit confused. Can you shed any light on this? Thanks for any information.
First, as I’ve stated earlier Additive F is a miracle breakthrough in the production of epoxy surfboards. It does so many things it’s unbelievable. In laminating, it helps wet the cloth eliminates most air bubbles, especially around wings and boxes, reduces the amount of resin needed, and most of all eliminates blush. Blush is what causes the banana peel effect you were referring to. In hot coats it eliminates blush, fish eyes, other surface blemishes and increases barcol hardness. This increase in Barcol makes the board sand easy and improves the bond and strength between layers. It also doesn’t interfere with recoating as wax solution in polyester does. That means no sanding between layers. One of the things I’ve tried to relay on this site is that epoxy boards have become easier to make (and safer as well) than polyester boards. Somehow I don’t think that has gotten through. On floatation, I usually make my boards about 1/8 inch thinner than a poly. The density is less because the board is lighter and the 1/8 seem to work fine. If you don’t want to make the entire board thinner just thin the rails. By the way, we also have the new fast hardener which cuts production time in half.
Oh yea, Additive F does go into the resin mix like wax in polyester except you use less. Only 1cc per every 3 oz. of mixed material.