So about a month ago I shaped/glassed/sanded numbers 2, 3, and 4. I’ll have to post pictures at some point, but haven’t gotten around to taking them yet. Numbers 2 and 3 stayed in Brooklyn with friends, but number 4 came home with me to Santa Cruz where it was a gift for my housemate. I’ve been able to test ride number 4 extensively, and am pretty darn happy with the ride, however it has a weird problem- it smells. More precisely it smells like sanding a hotcoat even though it’s been in the ocean at least a dozen times. My housemate and I noticed it for the first time one day when we were packing up the truck to go for a surf, and when we stuck our heads in the back of the bed it was pretty intense.
What’s going on with this stink?
Just for background this was a standard PU blank that I glassed with PE resin. I did a sanded finish on it, sanding down the hotcoat to 400 grit, and then finished it with Futures floor gunk. Am I doing something very wrong here?
Howzit adk, I once sprayed a blank with paint that I had mixed in a jar that had had garlic in it. The paint had a garlic smell that was almost over powering after spraying and even after the board was glassed and totally finished it some hows still had a slight garlic odor to it. Thought the finished board would be sealed enough to cancel the smell, go figure.Aloha,Kokua
thats funny I just sanded two boards today and i was thinking to my self these boards have that sweet polyester smell like candy …smell it right through a dust mask anyone else no what im talking about …that sugary smell
Sounds or smells like you used a lot of MEK; I used to notice that smell while working on boards that were glassed in the winter (more catalyst to counter act the cool resin).
maybe its just the warm future you’re smelling… everytime i use it it stinks the shop up with that amionia cat piss smell… so mayby when it gets hot in you;re car it sends that smell…
if it smells like a sanding room though, uh who knows… just ride it i guess…
i wouldnt sweat the smell too much, as long as the board holds up like it should.
Sounds or smells like you used a lot of MEK; I used to notice that smell while working on boards that were glassed in the winter (more catalyst to counter act the cool resin).
I use to use MEK in the print trade until it was banned for health reasons. Heard about a fellow printer whos knob rotted away and finally fell off from using the stuff to much, Turns out he wasn’t washing his hands or take off his gloves before having a piddle.
It sounds like what you’re smelling is the styrene that hasn’t fully evaporated out of the mix.
Maybe it was too cold when you hotcoated the board?
Maybe two or three hours in a hotbox at about 40-50 Degress C might dampen down the smell without having to expose it sunlight ( unless of course you used a UV cureing resin).
The styrene will out gas for some time and it does not take much styrine to smell up an area. Styrene has an odor threshold of 0.32 PPM. Now for the garlic that Kokua is talking about at least you are not going to get hit by any vampires.
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Howzit adk, I once sprayed a blank with paint that I had mixed in a jar that had had garlic in it. The paint had a garlic smell that was almost over powering after spraying and even after the board was glassed and totally finished it some hows still had a slight garlic odor to it. Thought the finished board would be sealed enough to cancel the smell, go figure.Aloha,Kokua
It was pretty warm when I hotcoated- maybe like 90 degrees. I could have used too much SA as I was having a hard time getting accurate volume measurements of the stuff using my grad. cylinder. The cylinder kept getting crapped up by the SA making it hard to read. How does everyone measure that stuff well? Dropper bottles? Thanks for all your help guys. I love Sways! Pictures of this board soon…
Hi Nat, know what you mean, get that smell even when sanding down old poly boards for repairs.
Once I had to pick up some styrene from the mail deport on the way to work, but it had leaked, melted the packaging and really stunk the place out, I wonder why I’ve never been employee of the month?
yup thats it thats the smell ive done the same sanding 30 year old boards and get that sweet smell…i like it! …to bad its probably bad to eat it or smell it
Yer me too, mabye I’m wrong but seem to get it more on better made boards.
Until now I hadn’t realy thought about it, but the funny thing is as I now do all my repairs in epoxy, getting that smell really helps me know when I’ve sanded enough when I’m feathering the edges and blending repairs.
Howzit woody, I always thought the odor when sanding old board was a shellac smelling one. I have sanded a few boards in my life,Ha,ha and the smell from a new board never was the same as the odor from an old one.Aloha,Kokua
“I have sanded a few boards in my life,Ha,ha” I bet you have and your right, new boards just don’t smell the same.
I’m not sure about shellac, its not a smell I’m familliar with (it’s type of funiture polish right).
Makes sence though, didn’t a lot of old school glassers use funiture polish to shine a board. ( I still use pledge sometimes on repairs) and most newer boards I’ve have a sprayed on clear coat and not what I would consider a true gloss with resin. mabye the resin absobed some of the shellac smell like your garlic boards.
But I still get that smell from boards with a sanded finish? They say smell is the sence linked closest to memory, I really like that smell and probably accociate it with older boards, I enjoy working on them much more than the new ones.
Just cleaned one up from 69, under all the wax (30 years worht I think) its in almost mint condition, come up looking great. really love old boards.