flex freak and have nothing to do with “varial” is this hype???
Anyone into this http://varialsurfboards.com/?page_id=7
ill stick with my US Blanks but thanks varial.
Whats the big deal anyways? They removed the stringer and made the foam more dense?
If price is right - I’d try one.but I’m not getting anything for awhile. wonder if their honey comb core actually adds strength?
Having a look at Doc shaping in that video, the way the blank dusts up on shaping , the reported properties of it, hardness, stiffness, and the translucent nature of it in a picture there, I would almost put money on this being PMI - polymethacrylimide. You might call it aerated perspex. It’s clear, not white, but the refraction of light through so many bubbles makes it appear white.
It’s a high performance sandwich foam used in VERY EXPENSIVE composite products - racing cars, boats, trains etc.
I doubt that the Varial blanks are from a chemical specifically formulated for the surfboard industry, because it’s just not large enough to attract the type of chemical companies who put out these things.
For example, I read a stat somewhere that a billion kilograms of EPS is produced worldwide per year. Surfboard foam would be a mimute fraction of that.
One brand name of a PMI foam is Rohacell. I’ve had it as a skin in a couple of boards. It’s also the same stuff the Tufflite TL2s used. It’s very brittle, dents don’t bounce out, and…here’s the deal-breaker - not entirely waterproof!
Unless something about the Varial type is different, we’re possibly going around in the same old circle looking for strong, waterproof versus cheap. I would like to be wrong - I want to get a look-in on some here in Aust - we’ll see.
JD
I think it´s pmi foam too because other possible foam are in général too heavy.
i hope they have a good uv inibitor because the pmi foam i use for a compsand didn´t have and foam destroy quickly became like an old pu stay too long on the beach. But this foam have an high compressive résistance at low weight the must for a sandwich build.
has anybody ever seen the stuff they use in boston whalers now? Up in the bow they spray (i believe) a three part mixture with some additives in it. Whatever the stuff is its totally waterproof, almost hydrophobic water just beads up and runs right off the stuff. Its pretty dense feeling but not overly heavy and the stuff is CRAZY buoyant. A new whaler was in the shop today and i passed through, some dude broke the whole skiffs bow open in a storm. The shop head had no idea what the foam in the bow was. Ive seen it sprayed in and poured in but never known what it is.
Any ideas?
I’d like to know how much it cost? Is it available to hobby shapers? Is there a blank catalog? Or, is it only available to a few professional shapers like the xps stuff produced by the South American guy(apologize, forget his name)? Mike
any further word on this varial foam?
seeing lost, roberts, tokoro, jc etc. building boards out of these blanks for their team riders to test.
my shaper told me $140 extra for one. he’s shaped a few but no word back on how they go or hold up.
looks really interesting - i reached out and they would sell a couple blanks and ship them to me (i am very small time). about $100 more than a standard blank. i need to ask them how they recomend to skin them - i would think epoxy with minimal glass…
We glass them poly and epoxy, I like the look on the epoxies better than the poly, they seem a bit more vibrant, and we use the silmar with the brightener. Cost per blank is aprox 175.00. I have seen a big chunk of the process as far as the blanks go and its interesting to say the least. They machine well, the sand well. Plane well. kinda iffy on the surform but microplanes love em.
Bump
there are some blanks coming into the gold coast.
the guys from AKUshaper australia air freighted a bunch in???
$320 a blank… i have a number of the dude if you are in aussie and want one.
send me a PM and ill pass it on to you.
$320.00 for a shortboard blank ?..I can build the rollsroyce of blanks for that much…(lol)
needless to say i havent asked for one;)