Worst case scenario for a glass job

   I ordered “vinyl ester epoxy” from solarez, not knowing that vinyl ester was just as bad as polyester for EPS blanks. Since Solarez sells a polyester resin, I thought “vinyl ester epoxy” was epoxy resin. Not to mention it has the word epoxy in the title.

   I now have an EPS 11’ SUP blank that was eaten on the bottom by “vinyl ester epoxy.” The bottom is the only layer I glassed. Before glassing I did apply some zerovoc, but I ran out and didn’t have enough to cover the rails of the board and all of the the last 28 inches of the tail. For the most part, the fiberglass held the original shape of the board, but the foam underneath is eaten. The tail got eaten to the point that the last 28 inches of the tail has a thickness of around three quarters of an inch. There’s also two holes in that section of the tail where the resin ate completely through the foam and left two 2 inch diameter cavities. So I have an 11’ SUP blank with the last 28 inches eaten up and some minor damage to the rails (the rails can just be sanded down, so that’s not my biggest concern). 

   All of the resin is dry, so I’m ready for the repair. At this point I just want a board that I can paddle on calm flatwater. I’m not too focused on hydrodynamics. Below, I typed four options with some notes in parentheses. Please tell me if any of these techniques will do or tell me your own.

     1)Fill any voids with the foam-in-a-can stuff, apply the “vinyl ester epoxy” the right way, and glass on a fin, or try to install a fin box (I’ve seen people say in other posts that this foam in a can wouldn’t support a fin box).

     2)Fill any voids with spackle or some other putty, apply the “vinyl ester epoxy” the right way, and glass on a fin (I doubt spackle could hold a fin box or would offer much volume)

     3) Cut the eaten tail off, shape a tail from the remains, and I now have a ~ 8’ 8" SUP. ( The original shape had a volume of 132 liters. Also the rails are very thick and boxy. The board only needs to float my 125lb, so doing some cutting might still keep it floating.)

     4) Scrap the whole thing (I’d rather not do this, since this is my first board)

 

To add, if it sounds like I complained about solarez anywhere above, I didn’t intend to. This resin was good stuff when I applied it to the areas covered with zerovoc.

 

An SUP, you say?

This is the best solution:

 

 

Anyone can make a mistake. Strip the glass and reshape it into something smaller. Don’t forget to shrug your shoulders and laugh. It’s just a board.

Agree with Cleanlines

First things first - Stop using the vinylester on EPS.  There’s just no future in it, especially for a project as large as an SUP.  By the time you factor in the cost of the Zerovoc you’re most likely paying a fair bit more to use VE for this project than if you had started out with Epoxy in the first place.   If you’re local to SD County and you want to sell the remainder of your VE I’ll buy it and you can put those funds toward some epoxy.  Either that or buy a PU surfboard blank and use the VE on that.  

If you do decide to go with epoxy then be smart and buy the slow hardener instead of the fast hardener; at least for the laminations.  That will give you more working time, which I presume is the main reason you chose the UV  VE resin in the first place.  

Definitely reshape the tail and go from there.  You won’t be the first board builder who has had to amputate a diseased limb in order to save a patient.  

 

Lastly, friends don’t let friends sweep; so that’s why these guys are giving you grief over your project.  Nothing personal.  I don’t know for sure but my guess is that you’re probably way too young to retire and give up surfing just yet.  

Repost = head smack

I’d say scrap it and chalk it up to experience.

This is good example of why they should not label that resin as epoxy. Also a good example of why you should test resin on a foam scrap if you have ANY uncertainty about whether or not they are compatible.

Well, what Mike said, but…

always, always read the product description.  It says on the the solarez website, “not for use on EPS”.  VEE has its uses, especially on boards for distinguishing riders (team) that want a bit more flex with a light weight.  Like all materials, it has its place in the scheme of things. The thing is, new shapers are always looking for a cheaper way to skin the same old horse, so to speak.  That usually creates problems that are not expected.  So much for pontificating (look it up), but to solve your problem you should fill in the voids with epoxy/microballon slurry ( try a test batch first) that you can inject/push into those voids.  You should look at doing some sort of airbrush/spray over the sanding coat (epoxy naturally, you don’t want to make your problem worse) to hide the blems. I have done some flatwater SUPS and rocker and cosmetics are more important that weight or build in my experience.  Just my 2c…

Does your blank have a stringer? Could you cut out the damaged EPS, angle/scarf cut the old and new foam to match, and Gorilla Glue fresh EPS to the stringer and old foam? Then cut the rocker in the new foam back down to the stringer, and redo the rails. That way you could keep the length as designed. Sorry about the trouble, hope you can solve it to your satisfaction.

A wise beginner can learn alot around Sways.  The cool thing is that there are so many around Sways who do these out of the norm experiments  resulting in disaster, that a wise beginner can avoid such pitfalls by reading and resarching.  Should have queried Sways before you ever bought the resin.  Now strip the glass and shape a shortboard out of your SUP.

make it into a 8’ something

dont call it anything like sup

just make it float and paddle

take it into waves make it go.

have fun on it,keep it for life

dont be a jerk and throw

good money after bad.

glue on another tail section

of fresh foam would be easy enough.

but this poly on styro is a mean lesson.

buy the next blank and get on with life…

…ambrose…

you deserve

 to be

successful