Also, what’s everyone’s experience with using prepregs, and has anyone vacuum bagged before?
Thanks,
-H
Never done a prepreg.
Done a few vac bags.
I use RR just because.
It’s reliable, well priced, easy to get, many pros use it…
I have only used RR and Greenroom. But only Greenroom once.
I would be happy to use Greenroom more but it’s easier FOR ME to get RR.
OK, yeah I think prepregs are too dry to use alone for your typical surf board process.
I’m experimenting with some carbon. I have prepreg and some dry fiber. I’m debating whether or not my choice of laminating resin will significanly skew my results. Probably not.
How fast does RR actually set up?
See http://resinresearch.net/id22.html for times and temps with RR Kwik Kick.
With prepreg, is slow set up preferred?
I have not tried RR, nor Am I laminating eps or poly foam.
I really like System3 clear coat resin for its very low viscosity and ability to penetrate deeply into wood, not fisheye, and very long potlife and no amine blush in all but the most humid environments. Not cheap though.
It wets out CF or fiberglass cloth/ roving very quickly being so thin.
Not good for fill coats though, too thin, too slow. I tend to use System3 SB-112 for filling the weave as it is thicker, and has UV filters, and they say Polyester resin will bond to it.
I do utilize Apex epoxy too which is very economical. Their newer Hardener, which is much lighter in color, seems to fisheye much less than previous batches with a darker amber hardener, and pot life seems similar to RR kwikkick from what I read, but have no personal experience with RR KK.
Apex blushes pretty badly when curing in high humidity, in my experience.
Bought some Green Room for use when weather warms up this spring. Have not used any yet. BB30 speaks highly of it.
Have attached their specs for hardener mixes and set/working times.
SB – you may be educated but you are pretty damned gullible. DAAA!
What is your personal experience using Green Room epoxy?
I have not used Green Room epoxy yet.
Unsolicited, Rob, the chemist at Green Room gave me useful epoxy information – long before I considered ordering.
BB30 has given me no reason to doubt him. He has made several good posts where he uses epoxy. His work with epoxy is impressive. Other credible members respect his work.
I guess I will find out for myself over the next 4 months.
I know BB30. He taught my brother and I how to make compsand boards and how to work with epoxy resin before it became popular with surfboards. He’s one of the nicest and most generous guys I know.
He’s been using epoxy for surfboards for 20+ years. He uses a lot of epoxy, and has tried most of them. We’ve talked about the various surfboard epoxies available in the past and his insight is from lots of use. Once about 6 or 7 years ago my brother and Charlie were testing all kinds of resins, but my brother had a bad allergic reaction to something, so he’s backed off from making boards quite a bit. I do all the glassing for the boards we make now. I haven’t seen him for a couple of years, so I’m not sure what he’s using, but in the past he’d use one for one thing like lams, and another for fin boxes and another for the final coat. All based on how hot they get when curing, to how fast they cure, how clear they stay, and how well they sand.
Fiberglass Hawaii, Resin Research, Greenlight all know him well because he buys his resin in large quantities. Blane Chambers of Paddle Surf Hawaii, and Dave Parmenter have used him for wood laminated boards. He’s also a serious surfer and tow-in surfs big waves up on the north shore and the outer reef about a mile off his house.
What’s the purple tint with the RR? I read on another thread with the Surf Set resins and it sounds like it’s a mask for UV instability. How bad do these yellow in the sun?
It’s good to be skeptical of claims. But UV instability isn’t the issue. Most epoxies will yellow to some degree over time. The purple is an optical brightener so the boards appear more white, particularly in shops under flourecent light. It works. There are so many variables in the actual application by a given laminator that it seems impossible to say one epoxy is better for this or that. Use a good surf specific epoxy and learn its idiosyncracies. I use RR and believe it is best partly because I know how to use it. Kwik kick. Very fast super clear, perfect wetout. Everyone who’s done this a while has a favorite. Good luck.
OK this is good. I have some general marine laminating epoxy, can’t remember where from. I’ll bring in some RR and check it out.
I havent tried it myself yet. And i do find it interesting nobody brings it up on here much and not once in this thread, but i have heard wonderful things about prolinks epoxy. im a resin research guy my self and have found the little tricks to work around fisheyes and what not. The prolink supposed to be pretty fool proof. and i have seen it get much praise from a few big names on instagram. From what i have read from people using it and what i have seen on here seems to be comparable to greenroom. For the sake of discussion, anyone here tried it?
I use Prolink too. Great guys. Smart. I got a 3 gallon set of their pre-pigmented resin for use on my carbon boards. By pre pigmenting they are able to keep the stochichemistry correct so that the cured resin isn’t weakened by the pigment. I’ll be using it for the first time next week and will let you know how that goes.
BTW, I am mystified by fish eyes. I’ve had them once or twice, but not for a long long time. I think guys who get fish eyes are going to get them with any resin. I don’t think anyone can claim their surfboard specific epoxy is never going to get fish eyes. Their are some table top resins with a lot of additives (levelers) that may be FE free, but they don’t seem to cure crisp and are therefore a bitch to sand.
BB30 on Green Room Epoxy and others:
http://www.swaylocks.com/comment/494508#comment-494508
http://www.swaylocks.com/comment/514091#comment-514091
http://www.swaylocks.com/comment/514039#comment-514039
I meant no offense to the other resin users and manufacturers. I understand RR KK and therefore prefer it.
all the best
My personal Fisheye awareness only occurred after began using Epoxies other than System3.
The glassing conditions from one to the other were/are about the same( very imperfect), but I had to aim for a higher standard of dust and contaminant free environment/ surface during application/curing when Using the Apex epoxy, especially the older batches with the amber hardener.
But System3 is not economical and I hardly have experience with every available epoxy, and much of my use of epoxy is for use on wood, not foam, and much is not surfboard related at all.
double post… delete
I’ve only used Fiberglass Hawaii. It’s close to me and works nice
I have used Fiberglass Hawaii, RR, and Composite epoxy from Rev Chem. My favorite was the Composite. It wetted out nice, no blush, fisheyes, etc and the fill coats layed nice and flat. But, I get resin with the best price which lately has been RR. In the winter I lam with poly to avoid unwanted adventures. Mike