hey i think i will run out of resin on my hot coat due to a quick gelling of my fisrt eva lap. could anyone tell me the specs of polyester surfboard resin?: is it special/different to normal poly resin? cheers
Since surfboard people like there board to be real clear and clean. Surfboard resin is water clear and filtered real well. If this is for your self you could just use boat resin. It will not look a good but would ride just as good.
The most common polyester Surfboard Resin used is made by Sylmar. The laminating resin is part # 249A and the sanding resin is #250. http://www.foamez.com
Do they make a gloss coat resin? I only do 2 hot coats.
Yes, there are premixed finishing/gloss resins. They include a sanding additive AND and additive that increases the resins surface tension. As a result the resin flows like mercury - pour it out on your board to quickly and it beads up and rolls off. The benefit is that the resulting coat is self leveling and pulls itself down into a really thin coat on the board. Provided with a clean board and environment a well applied finish coat requires only minor wet sanding - usually along the tape line on the rails. I have successfully glossed boards that required no wet sanding and could be polished by hand with a buffing cloth and no compund. The key, however, is preparation. Similar to preparing an auto for color coat, any minor surface imperfection must be eliminated or it will show through (finish resin is not a good filler like sanding resin). The room and board must be dust free as well. Many glassers dont use finish resin but instead add a second sanding/hot coat and then then sand it to a finish (200 grit - 320 - 400 - 600 - rouge - polish - cloth). This also allows them to be less than perfect about the initial sanding since the are essentially applying another filler coat. Decide whether your temperment is better suited to tedious surface prep or multi grit wet sanding. If youd prefer prep and keep a dust free room then use finishing resin. If youd like a second chance to corrrect glassing and sanding errors and dont mind the additional finish sanding then use sanding resin. I suspect that production facilities using low cost labor to sand and polish find it more cost effective to use the sanding resin aproach. Setting aside a super clean room for glossing costs bucks. Expecting inexpensive labor to prepare the boards for Finishing resin application is probably unrealistic. Whatever you do, the end results are practically identical in appearance. Hey, you could always just use an automotive spray gun and spray a clear acrylic coat to the board. Really.
Thanks Mikey, considering I glass in a tent I think I’ll stick to 2 hot coats.