Hi there, in another thread I already talked about my first steps in the shaping world. After a couple of days of research, I narrowed my choice for resins down to the following ones. Of course I’d like to go as green as possible, but this being my first glass job, easy handling is quite on top of my priority list when it comes to chosing which resin to use. Here we go:
Greenpoxy. I found Greenpoxy 55 and 56 but couldn’t find any info what the difference is. Anyone worked with this?
Sicomin SR Surf Clear. Seems to be the same producer as Greenpoxy.
Entropy. Supersap 100 / CLR / CLR05.
SP115
RR 2000 PH. Seems to be the choice for many.
rather for the Euros on here: the resins that Atua sells: Resoltech and Atua.Dynamix
Ideally I’d need someone who used all of those (probably not very likely) and I know that much of it is rather subjective and down to personal preference. A little hint in this or that direction might not be the worst thing in the world though.
Thanks in advance for your input. Most likely you will receive a “thank you” per PM as I am not allowed to reply yet.
Sicomin and resoltech are french epoxy maker. Surf clear is a good resin used all over the world even by big compagny. Green one is the eco version. Atua dynamix is a nice surf resin too, i know it well LOL. Resin research is a référence. Supersap is nice and sp115 work for long time, may be you can find axton resin wich is really nice too. In fact you can use all with great success.
Everyone else can do your research for you??? Did you try the search thing? Four days of mashing numbers …
Location matters. People tell me all the time that the resin I use is expensive. They are wrong… And you need to learn about what is VOC. If you live in Flordia your options for resin are different from a guy in east New Foundland or Frog Haven or South North New Mexico…
No PM’s please…Where do you live? I’m near San Diego. I use a very awesome low VOC epoxy resin…and I care about quality product at a fair price…green is a wash. non issue…Ray
I do homemade EPS blanks with epoxy, also an ‘inland’ beginner. I use RR as it is easy for me to get (USA) and there is a huge amount of information here about it including Greg Loehr himself. As long as you pick one that is good for surfboards and follow the mixing instructions (manufacturer) and glassing techniques (search here), things should be OK.
Mako’s reply would be a great way to go if you are using polyurethane blanks. You would have all the time you need to laminate before exposing the board to solar UV to start the cure reaction and the extra resin goes back in the bucket and not to waste. So it has ‘green’ aspects of its own.
I know you have a few questions on the other threads. I would say pick one board (design and material set) and go for it. I would avoid natural fabrics and non-surfboard resins until you have a feel for the process.
Macht’s gut. Falls etwa nicht klar ist, bitte fragen Sie mir ruhig danach.
Edit: I really like RR too, along with its availability and tech support.
Thanks for all the input so far. And the votes of course. I kinda understand those restrictions, but without being able to answer in ones own thread, it seems kinda pointless. If there was a newb forum, where we could gain “points” or whatever, that might be more user-friendly. Just a thought…
I will definately choose a resin that is surfboard-specific. At this point, I am leaning heavily towards RR, as this seems to provide the biggest knowledge base on here.
Oh and of course I didn’t want anybody to do the research for me, I just wondered if someone has experience working with as many different resins as possible out of the ones I listed above.
At one point in time location was next to a person’s name…that way a person in East Neverland would know where the information was coming from. I use RR. But there’s several formulas and what I’m using maybe very different than what you can get. I say look at what you can get close to home first…
I’m in So. Cal…my options are endless. RR is low VOC. Look into that. Super sap is Low VOC. Price matters and shipping costs can spoil everything…
Thanks for your input ray. I am located in Germany. All the resins I mentioned above are available for me. I have to order them from either France or UK though, but the shipping rates are reasonable.
So, I will order next week and probably go with RR.
Just to be on the safe side: 2000PH is the resin used by most on here, right? and the only difference between 2100F and 2100S is the hardening time? in the description it says that the 2100S is used for finboxed etc but I can use that for the lamination as well, can’t I?
I have been using RR Kwik Kick for everything with no exotherm issues.
I use a router with jigs for fin boxes and a hand drill with forstner bits for leash plugs so things fit without excessive resin. Less resin in a small space=less dramatic exotherm=less chance of EPS meltdown. Sometimes I add scrap glass cloth to make things fit tighter and reduce resin volume.
Others do partial pours and apply ice packs to reduce exotherm temps with EPS.
I have melted plastic mixing cups with epoxy, by leaving a couple ‘fingers’ worth in the bottom and not dealing with it before it exotherms. This usually happens when I mix too much for a lam and then try to ‘save’ it for the rails instead of pouring it all on the board. Now I try to mix less, pour all, and make a bit more fresh for the rails if needed.
Additive F seems to enjoy an almost mythical reputation so would you advise using it with my first laminations or should I stay away from it?
I know, the question on the necessary amount of epoxy per board has been discussed extensively. However, the answers vary greatly and aren’t really helping me to be honest. I guess that someone with lots of experience will need not as much as I will probably need, so how much resin per board should I order to be on the safe side?
Ok, so the 5 Kg Kit should suffice for 3 or 4 boards I guess.
What are the dangers of using the slow hardener? Dust particles setting in? I think the pot lives are 20 min (fast) and 40 min (slow). I thought that 20 minutes might be alright especially regarding the fact that you’re not supposed to move the epoxy around all that much. I just don’t want to find myself trying to wrap cloth around the edges that is already gelly.
I haven’t even built my first board yet so I am far from giving advice on here, but I think UV stability might be an issue with epoxy that is not surf-specific. Other aspects might be way too tech for me, but here are many experts on that, I guess you’ll get an answer soon enough.
Curiously enough, I have been corresponding recently with a european guy who likes MGS epoxy… (from Germany!) I have no idea how it holds up to UV exposure or how easy/difficult it is to work with. Might be worth looking in to?
On the amount needed for a board… you first need to know the foam density of the blank. Then the board size. The number of layers of glass is determined by the foam density and your own tolerance for deck dents, fragility, etc.
A rough calculation can be made based on the number and weight of the glass layers. I.E. a single layer of 6 oz cloth for one side of a 6 foot board might need 14-18 ounces of epoxy for the lamination and 8-10 ounces for the fill coat (rough guess?) I usually multiply the untrimmed glass weight by about 1.5 as a guide. Some epoxy ends up squeegeed on to the floor. Not a huge deal with a board or two. In my experience it beats having to drag epoxy all around,froth the shit out of it and maybe still come up short. With wide overlaps you’ll use more resin than with skimpy laps.
It doesn’t matter how much epoxy other people are glassing their boards with without knowing the length of the boards, the weight of the cloth and the number of layers of cloth. A single layer of 4 oz fabric on a 6 foot board is going to require a completely different amount of resin from a double layer of 6 oz on a longboard - plain and simple.
Any rule of thumb that claims a specific amount of resin to glass a board is useless information. The experts are sure to come on soon about how little resin it takes for them to do it. Since you’re asking, I’m guessing you’re not an expert. Give yourself a little wiggle room - mix enough resin to get the job done.
I do something like John. Lenght of board (m) x width (m) x weight of fiber (g/m²) x 1.75. exemple for one layer of 6 oz on a 6’x19" (foam sealed before): 1.82 x 0.485 x 200 = 309g of mix. As a beginner you can go with a x2 factor.