Greg when are we going to see U.V. cure epoxy- thats when I think you will really make a dent in the market. S.A.
SA Here in Australia we have a company working on a UV epoxy for the last few months with some good results. They are also working on a Poly resin thats stronger than whats avaiable here. Rabbit
s.a.- im a complete rookie to this game, but i had the same question for greg a few months back. since then i have used rr epoxy system on three boards and countless test strips- my suggestion is to just go for it. i have the most ghetto set-up going & im glassing in a cold basement with one window for ventilation. if you have any indoor space to glass, you can use this stuff. here is what ive done: 1) use moms old microwave to heat the resin to around 90 degrees (happens real quick) 2) glass 3) use owens-corning fanfold insulation to creat a “box”, ring, oval etc around the board and then lay the last piece on top of it (picture a card house). i got this at home depot for $27 and it is 2x4x50, so its long enough for the longest of long boards. 4) salvation army space heater ($12, only half of it works) set on low for about 3 hours 5) after 3 hours, i lay on the hotcoat while its still tacky 6) if you do this in the morning, you can sand it late that night or the next day so, after the cost of the resin, the whole thing cost less than 50 bucks, and so far ive had no problems. when i was starting the process, i wasnt heating the resin and wasnt getting a full cure, but since ive starting heating it, no problems. also- i may get blasted for this, but ive been using these boards without a gloss/final coat. i just sand the hotcoat to 400 and then surf it. not exactly eye candy, but it sure is easy that way. i use clark green & 4oz e cloth- 2 layers on top, 1 on bottom. comes out about the same weight as most of my poly boards (blue foam, same glass) but much stronger. oh yeah, the fumes are roughly equivalent to leaving a can of paint open (not the same fumes, but same strength). actually, the resin smells kinda sweet, but i make myself wear a mask anyway. disclaimer- the thoughts, ideas, techniques and anything else of value in this post are not my own- as i said, im a complete rookie, but these are the tips ive gotten here from the big dogs. i hope reading this was easier than looking in the archives johnO
We have been at work on a UV cure epoxy. I’ll keep everyone here posted. It will take a while because of the testing faze. That’s something I like to be thorough about.