UV Epoxy?

General Discussion
1

Is anyone using UV Epoxy out there? Or have any links in the forum about it?

I’m thinking about switching over.

Thanks

Rick.

2

i just talked to they guys over at fiberglasssupply.com about this they other day, and they said it is not cost effective, and thats why it isnt used much.

maybe someone else can chime in with some numbers to back that up.

3

I’ve heard of people getting used bulbs from suntanning places for super cheap. The thought of 10 minute cures…

4

Older posts from Greg Loehr said that UV epoxy won’t become viable in the next 10 - 20 years…

Too many problems, cost, sub standard results.

And that ding repair stuff you can buy is not actually an epoxy, it’s a crappy urethane or something.

Kit

5

What about System Three UV Epoxy Resins? And a home made UV Light box?

Price doesn’t seem that big of a deal once it’s all set up. Worth the time saved.

Just never used System three. Any differences than RR?

Thanks.

6

i didnt know system three had a UV cure epoxy

do you have a link for that because i would be interested in trying it with a home made UV box also

7

Just looked now. Wishful reading i guess. ‘UV Inhibitor’. Not cure.

8

Check this out:

http://www.microchem.com/products/su_eight.htm

It’s a photoresist used all the time for MEMS devices, but is well more than 10x more expensive than Greg’s current RR pricing. I was thinking about building a board with it until I discovered the price tag.

Subsequently, I have toyed with the idea of keeping costs down and pulling an anti-Hicksy by building the world’s smallest surfboard: a carbon nano-tube (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanotubes) and SU-8 laminate with an aerogel core(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerogel). I envision a SEM shot of a dust mite hanging-10 on a micron scale longboard.

Unfortunately, I can’t find a small enough planer so the project is on hold.

9

Build one and report back!

Just be sure to do some test panels on scrap foam while you’ve got the goods hot and ready to go.

R&D is half the fun…

10

I must have misread. No UV epoxy right now. Do you know of any?

11

This question has been asked a few times before, including from myself. Oven curing I believe is the way to go for speeding up epoxy times. Not sure how viable a heater/thermostat is for you along with a dehumidifier. If your room isn’t too big/well insulated then this may be the go. Just crank the temperature dial up when you’ve finished glassing.

12

I talked to the guys that do Sun Cure over at surf source and they said they’ve tried but can’t get the right formula. he said something about it coming out with some type of film on it after it cures.

13

sounds gross.

14

No oven?

Park car in hot sun. Place board in car.

Kill the cockroaches that live under the seat, too!

I know it’s not the kind of UV you were intending ;>

15

Resin Research fast hardener is pretty fast. If put in a hotbox, even faster. Add some of the accelerator for fill coats and timewise, you have a decent epoxy program.

That said, I find plenty of uses for epoxy, UV poly and standard catalyzed poly.

16

Greg’s stuff with the fast hardener and accelerator is pretty fast. Even without the accelerator, the fast hardener lends itself to doing two or three boards at once. That’s the ticket in my book. Instead of doing “a board in a day,” you do three boards in three days. You just need a place to rack the boards as they kick… just get them off your stand.

Be careful with the hot box… make sure you use a rocker table. You can easily change the rocker in a hot box if not supported properly. Check the archives.

I made the mistake of putting a board deck down on the floor too early and lost my nose rocker. Pretty disappointing. Gave it a sort of “relaxed” look to the nose, with a bent down beak… Ugly.