Here’s my latest, built for a friend who HATES wax, so I made an EVA foam traction surface for him. The gloss coat is the glue for the pieces that touch the deck, and the foam-to foam bonds were done with 3M Super 77. There has got to be an easier way, though, that spray gets everywhere. The traction pad is made up of about 400 pieces, all 1/8" EVA ‘fun’ foam like you can get at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby. It is 3/8" thick in places where the foam is stacked three deep, and grips really well when wet (I was surprised).
The board is the largest I have ever built, at 10’0", 24" wide, and 4" thick after glass. These pics are right after the gloss coat cured, I still have to wetsand and polish it out.
Anybody else have any experience with the EVA? Only time will tell, but I hope the epoxy and 3M 77 will hold up for a while…
First off let me say that the job looks great. I commend you on your creativity and patience.
I hope you don’t have problems with the 3m 77, when exposed to heat it could soften up causing the foam to slip. One type of glue that might work better is “Landau Solid” It is an upholstery grade glue and the bond is incredible (haven’t tried it in water). If you know an upholstery shop in your area they might glue up a sample for you, otherwise the glue sells for around $50 for 2.5 gallons. I spray this glue out of a car sprayer, but you can brush it on as well.
Another alternative, for those looking to cover large areas with traction, is northshoreinc.com they are a traction company out of Oregon and sell by the square foot. They make single or dual density, with or without adhesive back, lots of colors (even camo), and different tread patterns. I just ordered a 5’ x 17" single density sheet with adhesive back and with shipping to LA it was around $65. That’s nothing when you consider a tail pad cost around $30 average.
The mosaic traction job is beautiful! I’ve just done some testing with Michael’s Crafts art foam, it’ll scuff up and tear on the edges in high use areas and the grip is just ok for me, the real traction pads that are also smooth grip a little better. Some of the art foam comes with a weak sticky back, it sticks remarkably well in areas where there isn’t a peel stress, but it peels up too easily once it gets going. I put a piece of the sticky back under the nose of the board and it stayed thru many sessions until I finally took it off. SurferSteve.com says to epoxy the art foam down, hold in place with tape. Any materal you find needs to be wet tested slipnslide style before going to the trouble of applying it.
Thanks for that site! The texturing they do is what I was trying to accomplish with the mosaic, sort of making ‘cleats’ to stick to your feet…
When you use contact cement, do you apply it to the board and the foam? I’m guessing you mask off the area on the board to avoid getting contact cement everywhere?
I don’t know why in the pic the board looks yellowish, though…
Again, thanks to everyone who gave great advice. It used to take me around 8 hours to wetsand and polish a board like this, this one took less than half that…
I guess that for a lighter person, it probably could be a SUP. But this is for a 230lb friend of mine, and he wanted something he could take out and catch the microwaves we see out here more often than not in the Gulf of Mex…
He also didn’t want to mess w/ wax, and wanted something big enough to possibly knee-paddle, so I jacked up the thickness to 4" (actually a little less, but it measures 4" thick once glassed…
He’ll get to see it for the first time over Labor Day Weekend…unfortunately we’ll be far from the ocean in Mason, TX. Goin’ dove hunting…
Thanks for that site! The texturing they do is what I was trying to accomplish with the mosaic, sort of making ‘cleats’ to stick to your feet…
When you use contact cement, do you apply it to the board and the foam? I’m guessing you mask off the area on the board to avoid getting contact cement everywhere?
JSS
I use the diamond pattern on my SUP. Their pads are grippy from day one and don’t need to be waxed or roughed up.
Apply the pads like you would a laminate counter top. Glue on both surfaces. Even coverage, glue brushed on thin, let both surfaces dry completely, not even tacky then apply. You have to be careful, when the glue dries and you start to apply the pad it will bond like like steel, make sure that you put it down straight and even.
I don’t tape off. I just lay the pad on the board so it’s even and draw an outline with a pencil. It’s pretty easy to stay inside the lines with the glue.
