Somebody at the last Swaylock’s gathering was talking about Walker foam. It might have been Herb’s stunt double. He said it can soak up more lam resin than a Clark blank, and one way to deal with that was to lam with UV resin. If that’s true then it could put upward pressure on the price of UV resin. Do the current big customers of Walker Foam, like Linden or others do UV lams in their factories?
Unnles I am mistaken UV resin is simply normal Polly resin with the UV catalyst mixed in prior to shipping it to the purchaser. You can buy the powder additive yourself and mix it if you want. So I can’t see why you’d have a spike in that category.
And having glassed more than a few wqalker blanks, I don’t really notice much if any difference in resin saturation from Clark blanks.
Drew
Howzit drew, You are not mistaken about the UV catalyst since I’ve done the adding to the resin myself. Anyways there is a solution if walkers do absorb more resin, I do pigment/tint abstracts right on the foam which seals the foam from soaking any more resin and they look beautiful also. And if you can use pigment when doing this and it kicks off just the same. I think it kicks because the layer of resin is so thin that UV rays are able to pass through it which it can’t when doing laminating with pigment.Aloha,Kokua
For what it is worth, Johnny Rice has his (walker) boards glassed in Santa Cruz and they do them with UV resin.
we rarely use uv at cooperfish. just don’t kick it too slow and work it when you lam. resin drains more than clark if it sits so give it a pass with a baste when it starts to kick. you’ll end up with a stronger bond to the foam.
walker’s really gearing up. they’re giving priority to they’re regulars but are being as accomodating as possible considering the circumstances. look for a sharp increase in production in the following months.
they’re good people and make a great product. crisp foam thru and thru, no merangue in the middle. i’ve been using it since harold opened again and haven’t looked back. once you learn to work with it you’ll love it.
Kokua, I agree, walkers are best sealed then laminated. I’ve also used the laminating then basting method comes out heavier.
i agree there greg. sealing is a good option if your going clear, that’s not often for me. i feel the weight thing is kind of a wash but then again i make heavier boards so a slight difference is greatly minimized. either way it makes for a stronger bond than you could get with a clark blank, well worth the extra step.