From the Surfer’s Journal, 11#3:
“I shaped my first board down in Emerald Bay in probably '50, maybe '51. Solid balsa, completely glassed with sun-cure polyester resin.”
-Mr. Reynolds Yater
Maybe I’m completely clueless, but I’ve always been under the impression that UV resin was a fairly new development. I guess there really is nothing new under the sun! (Ha, haha.)
Polyester resin chemistry advanced during and just after WWII. The resin was activated by UV catalyst. Uses at the time were limited to surface application. Big industry (thus big markets) wanted a polyester resin which would activate inside of molds, where no UV source could penetrate… …enter MEKP. Relatively small numbers of surfboards were being built with the UV resin in the late 40’s and into the 50’s but as the demand for higher rates of production increased, it was found that MEKP could yield those higher numbers. This set the stage for the archtype glass shop for the next 40 years… Somehow UV catalysts were forgotten until the demand started with the increase in builders who were not as concerned with doing large numbers…
I read of Eaton glassing boards near Palos Verdes and driving around with them until he got above the fog to sunlight, where they could go off
Thanks for the info, guys. I love learning about this stuff! It’s amazing how much of our current technology has its roots in WW2. I wish there was a force other than war that was such a great motivator for research!