This is awesome! I use epoxy for small craft projects and have been really wanting a paddle board for water yoga. I think I’m gonna give your method a shot. I obviously have a lot to learn. Thanks so much for sharing!
I enjoyed your presentation and style. A materials list would be a good addition to avoid numerous inquires. I am ready to laminate a test article to check out forming a bow and stern curve. My idea is to cut three 32"X48" pieces from four one inch 4X8 sheet and edge glue them into four 32'X144" sheets. The xps slits will allow making a curved hull with very little foam removal. Also 7 oz UNI glass top and bottom with no center rail. Plan on 1-1/4 OD fiberglass tube cut into three inch lengths drilled for horizontal 0.187 carbon fiber rod for gear attachment points. Also add hard points for a small sail, dagger board and rudder. just in case. Latex paint actually works great for edge bonding XPS foam pieces ( it will dry out). Do you think parchment paper will serve as a peel ply layer ?
To get the curve, I just propped up the bow with a 4" block and the stern with a 2" block and weighted the center. I used an 8 FT piece plus a ~4 FT piece on top and bottom and staggered the joints. I spayed water on the foam and then drizzled on Gorilla Glue. After set in place, I used ratchet straps and bungees to keep semi-uniform pressure on the board while the glue cured. No stringer. Still going strong and I use the board all the time, even in January!
Watched your video all the way through very cool I wanna build one specific to fishing . I've found things I can add to my idea from your video thanks . I do wanna do an insert for a removable fin . Add things for gear on top D ring tye down just have to figure out what and how to do that.
Hi Ricardo! Glad you enjoyed the video! I just got done mounting some multi-purpose fixtures to the top of my board and am in the process of creating a video to detail how to do this. I’m a bit slow on the video editing at the moment but now that the weather has gone cold and dark in the Northeast US, I should have some time to get it edited and released. The best piece of preliminary advice I can give is to get a tool that is capable of plunge cutting/routing with a small detail bit. I used a Dremel to make my cutouts and it made the job fairly easy.
Hey I'm glad you responded to my question. Next question is what type of Glue are they using to add a patch style D-ring like on a flat surface on an inflatable SUP ? Or if you wanna add some to a board without drilling into it . ? My email address re18strada@yahoo.com Hope you can stay in touch sir TTYL.
Hello there Rich, great work, I made my self a skimboard with xps foam, but I had problems when laminating it. the epoxy resin and hardener mix would eat up (melt ) the xps foam, would you pls explain to me what to do so that doesn't happen again, thanks for your advice.
Hi Javier! XPS foam should withstand epoxy resin, but polyester resin will melt it. If you are looking to use a foam that can withstand polyester resin, look into Polyisocyanurate foam. I do not have experience with this foam, and it appears to be on the expensive side. The cheaper option may be a different epoxy resin, especially if you have leftover foam to make a new board. I used the US Composites brand 635 epoxy resin on construction insulation foam without any issues. I hope this helps! Good luck and happy glassing!
Great video and resource! I am going to do my first board. I work with epoxy all the time in wood working and concrete repair but I have a few questions. First, you didn't address in the video amine blush( a light film), which is a water-soluble by product of cured epoxy that weakens or sometimes prevents a good bond of a second coat, or as you say "hot coat" this is removed by a light sanding or by just washing with soap and water. There are a few amine blush free epoxies on the market but I have never seen one in person. Some do a second coat while still tacky to get a good bond and to avoid the problem. The second question is; what was your final coat over the epoxy? Epoxy is destroyed by sunlight and is traditionally coated to protect the epoxy from the sun. Some use varnish, clear spray coats, gel coats. A final minot comment I guess; you mentioned that you have to move fast or the epoxy will start to cure. That is dependent on temperature with epoxy. I have medium dry epoxies that have a 25 minute pot life at 70F but at 60 are workable for an hour. The slow hardeners can have a pot life of many hours and are usually more clear, dry slower but have more flexibility, which is good on boats etc. There are also quick setting systems that are more brittle and for cold temps. Any input would help us all, cheers, Jon
jon wikan Great comment! Thanks for watching and I’m glad you mentioned the amine blush because I had no idea what that was but I’m willing to bet that is what was clogging up my sandpaper when I was sanding between coats. It probably would have been more efficient to remove it with soap and water as you suggest instead of going through several sheets of sandpaper. I did sand between each coat, so I suppose that would have removed the amine blush but it just took much more effort than a quick scrub with soapy water. I did not coat the epoxy....yet. I store the board in a place that does not get a lot of UV light and I mostly use the board at dawn and dusk. You’re absolutely right that I should protect the epoxy with some sort of UV resistant coating like paint or varnish, but I still have more work to do to the board. I’ll probably give it a coat of paint after I install a leash plug and some mounts for camera gear. About the cure time, I did have trouble working the epoxy after about 20 minutes. My garage was about 75 deg and the epoxy lost its “flow” after about 20 minutes and the more I tried to work with it, the worse things got. You can probably reference the manufacturer’s recommendations for temp vs. set time to know how much time you have to work, but the general idea is that you don’t have forever so be time conscious. I do plan on making some more videos about the design of the board and the foam shaping, only because I go so many questions about it. I really appreciate your weigh-in though because I am a total amateur with epoxy. This was my first project using epoxy and fiberglass and it was a great learning experience. I look forward to more comments like yours to I can keep learning more about the whole process. Thanks again and happy glassing!!
@@RichZaverack , If you sanded between coats you are golden with bonding. The blush is lighter or heavier depending on the relative humidity. More humid means more blush. The soap and water is usually combined with using an abrasive pad. Just lightly scrub the whole surface and let dry. I was surprised that Denatured alcohol and acetone don't fair so well because the amine blush is water soluble. The old boat builders know about this and for sure most people do sand in between coats and that works great. Yes it will clog your sand paper a bit. I have found that pouring a second coat bonds really well when the surface is still a bit tacky(if no sanding is required) and the engineers at the epoxy company I use concur. For hot weather you can do several things to slow the chemical reaction. First, you use a bucket that is wide rather than tall and skinny. I have seen tall and skinny actually get hot and just kick in minutes on a hot day, less surface area for heat to dissipate and it is no joke. You can also put the epoxy kit in the refrigerator and cool it down a bit before mixing. Too cold and it gets thick but within reason will work good. For cold weather I put the epoxy in almost boiling hot water in a pot for a while when working in say 40-50F conditions when using a 70F epoxy and maybe put a heater nearby. 10-15F degrees lower can cost you a day. One final tip I gained by talking with an engineer at US composites(great epoxy company) always add the hardener first with epoxy and get it on the edges of you mixing container! Then add the resin. Sometimes when adding resin first the sides become coated and it is hard to get everything combined and you can get little pockets of semi uncured epoxy in your work and then you could be stuck with a sticky mess in a few spots. I only experienced it one time and well, sticky sandpaper to say the least to remove those spots.
After talking to some kind of epoxy chemist the amine blush can be removed with just very hot water(no soap) and say a white abrasive pad. By only sanding you could be mixing the blush into the surface, so best to just wash first and then sand if needed. I am sure sanding only is fine but an extra precaution if you are working with high stress areas.
Epoxy can be low viscosity and sometimes hates bonding to expanded polystyrene so one must be careful to ensure that the foam is clean, filled and sanded well before applying the resin and the resin must be worked hard to push the resin through all the fibres. DO Not use a course weave fibreglass because each and every pulled thread with leave a hole ready to leak and each thread end can detach and fuzz up. Fine weave fibreglass 200g/m2 or less is best for sealing. Epoxy fibreglass leaves no mistake unpunished, no short-cut will ever be rewarded and sanding or sawing epoxy fibreglass causes millions of glass needle threads to fly around ! Sometimes bubbles and cavities form and then must be pushed out after 30 minutes of setting time. The professionals use female moulds and vacuum pumps because they need to for reliability. If you try using sanding disks, it is very easy to cut through to create a large hole because the foam has no strength. Avoid any concave shapes or voids because the cavity will not get bonded without vacuum/atmospheric pressure (maybe water bags could help keeping them cure together?). Voids between foam and fibreglass allow water can get inside and spread inside. Get it right first time or throw it all away and start again! Professionals use female moulds and vacuum pumps.
Hey Rick did you used a stringer? Do you think adding a stringer will help o rigidity of the Board and maybe help with dellaminations? Or it is ok without stringer?
carlos valdes I did not use a stringer, mostly because I plan to use my board on calm lakes and lazy rivers. If you are more adventurous and want to try your board on the ocean or rougher waters I would definitely plan on using a stringer. Although I did have a few de-laminations, I have attributed those to the filler I used to even out a few dings in the foam. Every one of my delams started in an area where I used this plastic filler to smooth out the foam.
I bought 1 gallon and ended up using about 60-70% of it. If you had a smaller board and were really efficient, you might be able to get away with the 1/2 gallon, but I figured it was good to have a little extra to guarantee I didn’t run out while building the board, and also for future repairs.
Hi Michael, I did not reinforce the two pieces of foam at all. I just glued them together with Gorilla Glue. When I glued the two pieces together, I propped up the front and rear ends by about 4 inches to add a camber to the board. This helped later as I did not need to remove material to create a curved bottom surface.
The fiberglass cloth I used was a 38” wide roll that you can buy by the yard. I bought enough length to overhang the front and back of the board by about 6” or so. I believe I purchased from US Composites.
Hi Nathan! I made the foam core from two pieces of 2" thick polystyrene insulation board glued together with Gorilla glue. It ended up being just over 4" thick X 10' long. I am trying to find my CAD files for this build. When I dig those up I will send you the 2-D prints.
crazedskirge287 I lost my original plans unfortunately but I was able to take new measurements using the same lines I originally marked to cut the blank. The basic idea is to make a centerline and mark it at regular intervals. In the areas where the shape changes drastically, like the nose, you need to make the intervals closer for better curve resolution. I marked at 6" intervals in the nose and 12" intervals in the middle and tail sections. I am working on a video about the design of the board that will detail the design process, but in the meantime I can share with you my hand sketches. They are crude but will get you the basic shape.
@@RichZaverack hey rich! I actually finished my paddleboard! I tested it last weekend. It works great except i want to add side fins to help with tracking. The only thing i dont like is i painted the foam and the fiberglass pulled off on the deck in a few bubbles. It's still under epoxy so it's fine but doesn't look as good. On the bottom i sanded with 80grit and the roughness helped the paint stick better. On top i left it smooth... I'd send a pic if i can get i to you
Nathan Jeffery awesome!! Glad to hear your project worked out! I am actually working on a video about how to fix those small delaminations with two different methods. I had the same problem with one or two bubbles forming on the bottom. Its an easy fix but might be tough to make it look pretty.
If you are planning on surfing with your SUP then a stringer might be a good idea. I did not put a stringer in and have not had any issues after years of regular use as an SUP on calm lakes.
This is awesome! I use epoxy for small craft projects and have been really wanting a paddle board for water yoga. I think I’m gonna give your method a shot. I obviously have a lot to learn. Thanks so much for sharing!
Great job Bill 👏👍
Nice project.. I just palnning to build one, in the near future
Buenisimo!!!!!
I enjoyed your presentation and style. A materials list would be a good addition to avoid numerous inquires.
I am ready to laminate a test article to check out forming a bow and stern curve. My idea is to cut three 32"X48" pieces from four one inch 4X8 sheet and edge glue them into four 32'X144" sheets. The xps slits will allow making
a curved hull with very little foam removal. Also 7 oz UNI glass top and bottom with no center rail. Plan on 1-1/4 OD fiberglass tube cut into three inch lengths drilled for horizontal 0.187 carbon fiber rod for gear attachment points. Also add hard points for a small sail, dagger board and rudder. just in case. Latex paint actually works great for edge bonding XPS foam pieces ( it will dry out).
Do you think parchment paper will serve as a peel ply layer ?
To get the curve, I just propped up the bow with a 4" block and the stern with a 2" block and weighted the center. I used an 8 FT piece plus a ~4 FT piece on top and bottom and staggered the joints. I spayed water on the foam and then drizzled on Gorilla Glue. After set in place, I used ratchet straps and bungees to keep semi-uniform pressure on the board while the glue cured. No stringer. Still going strong and I use the board all the time, even in January!
Watched your video all the way through very cool I wanna build one specific to fishing . I've found things I can add to my idea from your video thanks . I do wanna do an insert for a removable fin .
Add things for gear on top D ring tye down just have to figure out what and how to do that.
Hi Ricardo! Glad you enjoyed the video! I just got done mounting some multi-purpose fixtures to the top of my board and am in the process of creating a video to detail how to do this. I’m a bit slow on the video editing at the moment but now that the weather has gone cold and dark in the Northeast US, I should have some time to get it edited and released. The best piece of preliminary advice I can give is to get a tool that is capable of plunge cutting/routing with a small detail bit. I used a Dremel to make my cutouts and it made the job fairly easy.
Hey I'm glad you responded to my question. Next question is what type of Glue are they using to add a patch style D-ring like on a flat surface on an inflatable SUP ?
Or if you wanna add some to a board without drilling into it . ?
My email address re18strada@yahoo.com
Hope you can stay in touch sir TTYL.
Hello there Rich, great work, I made my self a skimboard with xps foam, but I had problems when laminating it. the epoxy resin and hardener mix would eat up (melt ) the xps foam, would you pls explain to me what to do
so that doesn't happen again, thanks for your advice.
Hi Javier! XPS foam should withstand epoxy resin, but polyester resin will melt it. If you are looking to use a foam that can withstand polyester resin, look into Polyisocyanurate foam. I do not have experience with this foam, and it appears to be on the expensive side. The cheaper option may be a different epoxy resin, especially if you have leftover foam to make a new board. I used the US Composites brand 635 epoxy resin on construction insulation foam without any issues. I hope this helps! Good luck and happy glassing!
Great video and resource! I am going to do my first board. I work with epoxy all the time in wood working and concrete repair but I have a few questions. First, you didn't address in the video amine blush( a light film), which is a water-soluble by product of cured epoxy that weakens or sometimes prevents a good bond of a second coat, or as you say "hot coat" this is removed by a light sanding or by just washing with soap and water. There are a few amine blush free epoxies on the market but I have never seen one in person. Some do a second coat while still tacky to get a good bond and to avoid the problem. The second question is; what was your final coat over the epoxy? Epoxy is destroyed by sunlight and is traditionally coated to protect the epoxy from the sun. Some use varnish, clear spray coats, gel coats. A final minot comment I guess; you mentioned that you have to move fast or the epoxy will start to cure. That is dependent on temperature with epoxy. I have medium dry epoxies that have a 25 minute pot life at 70F but at 60 are workable for an hour. The slow hardeners can have a pot life of many hours and are usually more clear, dry slower but have more flexibility, which is good on boats etc. There are also quick setting systems that are more brittle and for cold temps. Any input would help us all, cheers, Jon
jon wikan Great comment! Thanks for watching and I’m glad you mentioned the amine blush because I had no idea what that was but I’m willing to bet that is what was clogging up my sandpaper when I was sanding between coats. It probably would have been more efficient to remove it with soap and water as you suggest instead of going through several sheets of sandpaper. I did sand between each coat, so I suppose that would have removed the amine blush but it just took much more effort than a quick scrub with soapy water. I did not coat the epoxy....yet. I store the board in a place that does not get a lot of UV light and I mostly use the board at dawn and dusk. You’re absolutely right that I should protect the epoxy with some sort of UV resistant coating like paint or varnish, but I still have more work to do to the board. I’ll probably give it a coat of paint after I install a leash plug and some mounts for camera gear. About the cure time, I did have trouble working the epoxy after about 20 minutes. My garage was about 75 deg and the epoxy lost its “flow” after about 20 minutes and the more I tried to work with it, the worse things got. You can probably reference the manufacturer’s recommendations for temp vs. set time to know how much time you have to work, but the general idea is that you don’t have forever so be time conscious. I do plan on making some more videos about the design of the board and the foam shaping, only because I go so many questions about it. I really appreciate your weigh-in though because I am a total amateur with epoxy. This was my first project using epoxy and fiberglass and it was a great learning experience. I look forward to more comments like yours to I can keep learning more about the whole process. Thanks again and happy glassing!!
@@RichZaverack , If you sanded between coats you are golden with bonding. The blush is lighter or heavier depending on the relative humidity. More humid means more blush. The soap and water is usually combined with using an abrasive pad. Just lightly scrub the whole surface and let dry. I was surprised that Denatured alcohol and acetone don't fair so well because the amine blush is water soluble. The old boat builders know about this and for sure most people do sand in between coats and that works great. Yes it will clog your sand paper a bit. I have found that pouring a second coat bonds really well when the surface is still a bit tacky(if no sanding is required) and the engineers at the epoxy company I use concur. For hot weather you can do several things to slow the chemical reaction. First, you use a bucket that is wide rather than tall and skinny. I have seen tall and skinny actually get hot and just kick in minutes on a hot day, less surface area for heat to dissipate and it is no joke. You can also put the epoxy kit in the refrigerator and cool it down a bit before mixing. Too cold and it gets thick but within reason will work good. For cold weather I put the epoxy in almost boiling hot water in a pot for a while when working in say 40-50F conditions when using a 70F epoxy and maybe put a heater nearby. 10-15F degrees lower can cost you a day. One final tip I gained by talking with an engineer at US composites(great epoxy company) always add the hardener first with epoxy and get it on the edges of you mixing container! Then add the resin. Sometimes when adding resin first the sides become coated and it is hard to get everything combined and you can get little pockets of semi uncured epoxy in your work and then you could be stuck with a sticky mess in a few spots. I only experienced it one time and well, sticky sandpaper to say the least to remove those spots.
After talking to some kind of epoxy chemist the amine blush can be removed with just very hot water(no soap) and say a white abrasive pad. By only sanding you could be mixing the blush into the surface, so best to just wash first and then sand if needed. I am sure sanding only is fine but an extra precaution if you are working with high stress areas.
Epoxy can be low viscosity and sometimes hates bonding to expanded polystyrene so one must be careful to ensure that the foam is clean, filled and sanded well before applying the resin and the resin must be worked hard to push the resin through all the fibres. DO Not use a course weave fibreglass because each and every pulled thread with leave a hole ready to leak and each thread end can detach and fuzz up. Fine weave fibreglass 200g/m2 or less is best for sealing.
Epoxy fibreglass leaves no mistake unpunished, no short-cut will ever be rewarded and sanding or sawing epoxy fibreglass causes millions of glass needle threads to fly around ! Sometimes bubbles and cavities form and then must be pushed out after 30 minutes of setting time. The professionals use female moulds and vacuum pumps because they need to for reliability. If you try using sanding disks, it is very easy to cut through to create a large hole because the foam has no strength. Avoid any concave shapes or voids because the cavity will not get bonded without vacuum/atmospheric pressure (maybe water bags could help keeping them cure together?). Voids between foam and fibreglass allow water can get inside and spread inside.
Get it right first time or throw it all away and start again! Professionals use female moulds and vacuum pumps.
no structural elements in between?
How is it block g up? You he it often?
Hey Rick did you used a stringer?
Do you think adding a stringer will help o rigidity of the Board and maybe help with dellaminations? Or it is ok without stringer?
carlos valdes I did not use a stringer, mostly because I plan to use my board on calm lakes and lazy rivers. If you are more adventurous and want to try your board on the ocean or rougher waters I would definitely plan on using a stringer. Although I did have a few de-laminations, I have attributed those to the filler I used to even out a few dings in the foam. Every one of my delams started in an area where I used this plastic filler to smooth out the foam.
Блин я тебя не понимаю но ты красавчик 🤙🤙🤗👍👍👍🏝
Good project bro. How many kg this board
11 kg with the fin and handle installed.
How much epoxy resin did you end up using for this?
I bought 1 gallon and ended up using about 60-70% of it. If you had a smaller board and were really efficient, you might be able to get away with the 1/2 gallon, but I figured it was good to have a little extra to guarantee I didn’t run out while building the board, and also for future repairs.
Did you use a plywood sheet between the 2 layers of foam for the core?
Hi Michael, I did not reinforce the two pieces of foam at all. I just glued them together with Gorilla Glue. When I glued the two pieces together, I propped up the front and rear ends by about 4 inches to add a camber to the board. This helped later as I did not need to remove material to create a curved bottom surface.
Does the resin desolve the foam?
No, but you need to make sure you are using epoxy resin and not polyester resin. Polyester resin will react with polystyrene foams.
What was the fiberglass roll dimensions/length?
The fiberglass cloth I used was a 38” wide roll that you can buy by the yard. I bought enough length to overhang the front and back of the board by about 6” or so. I believe I purchased from US Composites.
@@RichZaverack thanks!
Hi, Rich! Can you give dimesions for this? I'm thinking of making one. Is it six inches thick?
Hi Nathan! I made the foam core from two pieces of 2" thick polystyrene insulation board glued together with Gorilla glue. It ended up being just over 4" thick X 10' long. I am trying to find my CAD files for this build. When I dig those up I will send you the 2-D prints.
@@RichZaverack Rich, ever find the designs? Nice work!
crazedskirge287 I lost my original plans unfortunately but I was able to take new measurements using the same lines I originally marked to cut the blank. The basic idea is to make a centerline and mark it at regular intervals. In the areas where the shape changes drastically, like the nose, you need to make the intervals closer for better curve resolution. I marked at 6" intervals in the nose and 12" intervals in the middle and tail sections. I am working on a video about the design of the board that will detail the design process, but in the meantime I can share with you my hand sketches. They are crude but will get you the basic shape.
@@RichZaverack hey rich! I actually finished my paddleboard! I tested it last weekend. It works great except i want to add side fins to help with tracking. The only thing i dont like is i painted the foam and the fiberglass pulled off on the deck in a few bubbles. It's still under epoxy so it's fine but doesn't look as good. On the bottom i sanded with 80grit and the roughness helped the paint stick better. On top i left it smooth... I'd send a pic if i can get i to you
Nathan Jeffery awesome!! Glad to hear your project worked out! I am actually working on a video about how to fix those small delaminations with two different methods. I had the same problem with one or two bubbles forming on the bottom. Its an easy fix but might be tough to make it look pretty.
Is it twill or plain fabric?
It is fiberglass. You can purchase it from online surf shops by the yard.
@@RichZaverack I know it is fiberglass, I'm interesting in the weaving type
@@mavisevda It's twill, and don't use plain weave, it's just harder to conform it to difficult shapes. happy shaping :-)
@@mavisevda plain weave 6oz and 4oz.
Is it necessary to put a stringer or not ?
If you are planning on surfing with your SUP then a stringer might be a good idea. I did not put a stringer in and have not had any issues after years of regular use as an SUP on calm lakes.
@@RichZaverack thank you for the advice, i'll make my first touring sup soon.
Good luck luck Sir