I have started putting suncure in all my resin then dark storing. The logic being if I use it for everything, it can only help by giving me the option of speeding up my work by lifting out into the sun if i want, but also with 0.5% of catalyst in the resin, it goes off if I dont have another sun or if its raining, blowing shit around in a gale etc! I know some have said those who use both MEKP and suncure are amateur hacks who dont have confidence in what they are doing - and yes that does describe me fine, i have no problem calling myself a hack, but its done so i have the choice as some days really arent suitable to take a board outside (i tried, and paid the price several times with pet cat prints, spiders, kids, leaves, rainā¦!)
the second reason I am doing it and reason for this thread is because i wondered if it might mean you can get in the water faster, i.e. cut down that 2 week cure time that most people seem to go by with MEKP cured boards. Do people find boards are cured well enough in UV to get them in the water that first week after polishing? I do take a few weeks to make a board so the lam layer has had a good 2 weeks, the hot coat has had 1, the gloss layer and pin lines will be the only layer with under a week to cure before going surfing. Am I rushing, or does UV allow this as I hoped?
Epoxy wont solve the problem, it will avoid it. I dont have or use epoxy resin. I would rather solve the problem with PU resin and take that knowledge forward. I do intend to learn to use epoxy at some point, but not ready yet. i have 10-15 litres of PU resin so a few more boards before I make the move, if I do at all. I like PUPE boards and would like to perfect what I am doing here first really.
The clock starts ticking as soon as the deck lamination is finished. the strength of anyboard comes from the lamination. if the lam was done 2 weeks ago it is cured.
Thatās good to know thanks. On the original question, lets say the board was onlly laminated a few days ago but with UV resin (and MEKP). Would leaving it in the sun for an hour or two after the board is completely finished negate the need for that 2 week period? or does this 2 week guess which people seem to go for apply to both suncured and MEKP cured resin?
I got to work on a 41-year old sailboat hatch this weekend, 3/16" PE resin and glass matt. I touched it with a sander and instant āfreshā resin smell. Makes me wonder, does PE resin ever really āfullyā cure?!?
Ha, that opens up topics I have started threads about!
Do you need GAS protection as well as particulate when sanding recently cured resin, as that MUST be fumes youāre breathing, not just dust!
My understanding is something likeā¦
Its never FULLY cured (a decade maybe, or maybe a centuryā¦). Much like concrete, it gets harder and harder and harder all the time. When concrete is āsetā, that means it can be built on, walked on, driven on etc, but it never stops getting harder. From what I can gather, resin is the same. I think even resin in the bottle without any catalyst will (at least in theory) cure some time, its always curing, MEKP just speeds it up significantly. Someone told me if I put a bottle of resin in the shed for 50 years it would be a brick. I havenāt been shaping long enough like many of the pros on here to know if thats true, but no doubt someone will say if not! Thatās my āunderstandingā, itās not claimed to be facts, just what I have come to believe from research and asking around etc, and reading here of course
For anyone making one poly board at a time UV is the way to go. You can always catylize it if the situation requires. If youāre a production shop doing batches of boards in a glassing session traditional catylized resin is the way to go.
Yep, I have converted to UV and use it at all stages, adding MEKP when needed (pigmented resin etc).
Back to the original questionā¦ does using UV mean the board can be used quicker than the 2 week most people talk about waiting before using a new board?
A learning curve is a learning curve no mater what the resin. So starting out with either will be hard at first. The learning curve for epoxy in surfboards started in 2006 for the masses. PE resin had a 56 year head start but it would be hard to tell in any beginners hands. And like most things, itās the teachable indian and not the resin.
Canāt think of one pro glassing shop that doesnāt offer a resin choice unless of course you have EPS foam and donāt want to wait 2 weeks to cure board. Guess then you eliminate one product right away.
I think somewhere in there is an accidental answer to my one and only question.
āand donāt want to wait 2 weeks to cure boardā - You need to be more careful, you have answered my question while trying to light up another PU v Epoxy thread, oops, but I am pleased
Iāve ridden boards Iāve glassed UV within 3 days of glassing. The world didnāt end. My boys have ridden them within 24 hours of glassing. Same thingā¦earth kept on spinning. In one instance I even shaped one on Saturday morning, painted with acrylic in the afternoon then glassed and sanded it on Sunday and it was ridden on Mondayā¦but I donāt have that kind of energy on the weekends anymore. ;^}
The method of catalysation has no bearing on the cure time. It is still poly resin and the chemical properties are the same. The case where catalyst makes a difference is in how fast the resin kicks. Fast kick means more brittle. Slow kick yields longer molecular chains and thus more strength. YMMV.
Not so concerned with the world ending, more with an increased likelihood of dents, delams and other similar issues. Sounds like you didnāt have those so good to know thanks
That makes sense for the most part. However the Solarez vids etc (marketing BS accepted) show boards or repairs in particular going out in sun for a few minutes and they are rock hard. Done it myself as have you no doubt. They are certainly āmore curedā than the same board would be after 1, 2 or even 3% catalyst in the same time span. I understand its just a different WAY to catalyse, but its obviously got some differences in cure times going by how fast it goes rock hard in the sun. That was why I kinda wondered if that would get rid of the 2 week wait people recommend. Maybe the thread would have got to the point better if I just made it a pollā¦ āDo you wait 2 weeks with boads made using UV resin as well as ones made with MEKO?ā !
Good point you made though, I had problems with a past board I made using UV cure. It dented and the resin cracked, Not sure its anything more than just normal wear and tear but it could be and the UV curing process was used for first time on that one. It doesnt mean that was the reason, but it got me wondering a bit
Glass the entire board with UV only? The answer is, no, the board will not be ready to surf. Ever. Hereās why: if you only use UV that means you will be glassing the fin boxes with UV, which will NEVER cure without exposure.
Now, letās play devilās advocate and say finless, okay. Answer is yes. It says so (in a roundabout way) that there is a FULL cure in just a few minutes. Take a look: http://suncure.com/scinstructions.html
If it fully cures for dings, think of a brand new board as a large ding.
- and yes that does describe me fine, i have no problem calling myself a hack, but its done so i have the choice as some days really arent suitable to take a board outside (i tried, and paid the price several times with pet cat prints, spiders, kids, leaves, rainā¦!)