Hi, I’m experimenting with epoxy/eps boards and am psycked (aside form the epoxy work - too toxic!). Does anyone have experience vacuum bagging? is it worth it? I’ve been reading about it and would be interested in any set-up details - esp. using 2nd hand parts. also, seems there are tons of types of peel ply, release fabrics, breathers, bags, etc. which are best for surfboards? any cheap alternatives? Also, on the board I just finished i used a blue die in the epoxy (west system- i know others are better but i got a deal on it…) hoping it would help prevent uv damage. it’s dark, but still somewhat translucent - think i still need to put a polyester coat on? thanks in advance for any advice! amos.
Hi, I’m experimenting with epoxy/eps boards and am psycked (aside form the > epoxy work - too toxic!). Does anyone have experience vacuum bagging? is > it worth it? I’ve been reading about it and would be interested in any > set-up details - esp. using 2nd hand parts. also, seems there are tons of > types of peel ply, release fabrics, breathers, bags, etc. which are best > for surfboards? any cheap alternatives? Amos, I’ve got no experience with bagging. Peter Rijk!? Bagging scares me. Making only a few epoxy sticks I’ve made enough glassing mistakes that I like keeping the glass where I can work with it.>>> Also, on the board I just finished i used a blue die in the epoxy (west > system- i know others are better but i got a deal on it…) hoping it > would help prevent uv damage. it’s dark, but still somewhat translucent - > think i still need to put a polyester coat on?>>> thanks in advance for any advice! amos. You have to add resin for some kind of sanding/gloss coat. Why not add sun protection by using polyester? Get some SunCure and go at it. Also, I wonder if a drop of blue in my lam epoxy would help counteract the natural amber tint which epoxy leaves. -Noodle
You can use all sorts off bags as long as they have a good fit, to big and you have wrinkles to deal with. Also to thin and you might damage the bag, so youre sucking air trough the holes. If you don’t feel sure about this, use the other technique I mentioned before, there’s a drawing on the boards part (other), not a very good drawing but I hope it helps, it’s realy easy to do this. You don’t need any sand or gloss coat, you can sand and gloss it after you take the plastic away (when it’s cured). If you need some more resin in some spots, then use the same technique again just using resin with plastic. I would never use polyester on epoxy for a gloss coat (delam). Hope it helps and works for you. PS Might not be able to answer for the next week, Going surfing in France. Good luck. Peter Rijk>>> Amos,>>> I’ve got no experience with bagging. Peter Rijk!?>>> Bagging scares me. Making only a few epoxy sticks I’ve made enough > glassing mistakes that I like keeping the glass where I can work with it.>>> You have to add resin for some kind of sanding/gloss coat. Why not add sun > protection by using polyester? Get some SunCure and go at it.>>> Also, I wonder if a drop of blue in my lam epoxy would help counteract the > natural amber tint which epoxy leaves.>>> -Noodle
You can use all sorts off bags as long as they have a good fit, to big and > you have wrinkles to deal with. Also to thin and you might damage the bag, > so youre sucking air trough the holes. If you don’t feel sure about this, > use the other technique I mentioned before, there’s a drawing on the > boards part (other), not a very good drawing but I hope it helps, it’s > realy easy to do this. You don’t need any sand or gloss coat, you can sand > and gloss it after you take the plastic away (when it’s cured). If you > need some more resin in some spots, then use the same technique again just > using resin with plastic. I would never use polyester on epoxy for a gloss > coat (delam).>>> Hope it helps and works for you. PS Might not be able to answer for the > next week, Going surfing in France. Good luck. Peter Rijk Epoxy and polyester don’t mix. Bagging is a complicated procedure. Lot’s of moving parts to the set up, and the learning curve is high. If you are determined to try it though, Aerospace Composite Products carrys the pumps, tubing, etc, that is required to set up a vacuum system. http://www.acp-composites.com
I built four boards with polyester gloss over epoxy glass. A pro told me “Just rough up the glass first”. The epoxy supplier said “epoxy sticks well to lots of plastic surfaces, but other plastics have trouble sticking to epoxy”. I just “roughed up” the glass on my first board. The polyester topcoat didnt delam, but you can see tiny reflections under the top coat. On three subsequent boards I thoroughly sanded the glass before applying the polyester top coat. They worked great. No problems. They are wearing well without yellowing, -Noodle>>> Hi, I’m experimenting with epoxy/eps boards and am psycked (aside form the > epoxy work - too toxic!). Does anyone have experience vacuum bagging? is > it worth it? I’ve been reading about it and would be interested in any > set-up details - esp. using 2nd hand parts. also, seems there are tons of > types of peel ply, release fabrics, breathers, bags, etc. which are best > for surfboards? any cheap alternatives?>>> Also, on the board I just finished i used a blue die in the epoxy (west > system- i know others are better but i got a deal on it…) hoping it > would help prevent uv damage. it’s dark, but still somewhat translucent - > think i still need to put a polyester coat on?>>> thanks in advance for any advice! amos.
Hi, I’m experimenting with epoxy/eps boards and am psycked (aside form the > epoxy work - too toxic!). Does anyone have experience vacuum bagging? is > it worth it? I’ve been reading about it and would be interested in any > set-up details - esp. using 2nd hand parts. also, seems there are tons of > types of peel ply, release fabrics, breathers, bags, etc. which are best > for surfboards? any cheap alternatives?>>> Also, on the board I just finished i used a blue die in the epoxy (west > system- i know others are better but i got a deal on it…) hoping it > would help prevent uv damage. it’s dark, but still somewhat translucent - > think i still need to put a polyester coat on?>>> thanks in advance for any advice! amos. West systems is a decent room temp cure epoxy, just make sure to wash of the amine blush (caused by the epoxy hardener) off the laminate with water before sanding and hotcoating. Again, do this before sanding and hotcoating. The amine blush is water soluable, and will come off easily with a scotch brite pad. There are a few resin systems that have very low amine blushes, System Three makes one called SB 112. This resin system is also fairly clear and does well against the UV light. Gougen Brothers (maker of West Systems) also makes a line called Proset that have very high strength properties (but does have an amine blush), especially if you heat cure the board at 140 to 180 degrees. You can buy Proset from Craig Larsen at Revchem Plastics (800)281-4975. Regarding heat curing epoxies, most room temp epoxies like to be heat cured for quicker cure and higher strenght properties. epoxy technology is not the same as unsaturated polyester technology. The curing reaction generally takes about 7 to 14 days at 77 degrees to reach full cure with epoxy. During the in between stage the epoxy is in a B stage, often times hard but brittle. The heat curing speeds up the process and improves the strength properties. Depending on the epoxy, room temp cure for 24 hours, then heat cure for 4 to 8 hours. You can make an oven out of insulation foam and a space heater from Target. Most space heaters shut off at 140 F, so they work great for making curing ovens. If you are going to go to the hassle of using epoxy, you might as well get all the strenght out of it that you can. Late! Jon