MOW build 2

Spoon names don't sound right unless they start with a "v". This one is going to be the Verde, because of the color the owner has chosen.

I'm new to these materials: S-glass and Greg Loehr's epoxy resin.

This is the typical setup for a gallon of his resin: half gal. of hardener and about a quart of "Additive F", an enhancer. $117 retail, wholesale under $100. I'm supposed to need only 2/3 of a gal. for the whole board as compared to 2 gals. of polyester at $35/gal. In the end, it's only $8 more for the epoxy with its greater strength and less weight.

S-glass has a tighter weave than E-glass and is twice as expensive, $4.50/yd (27" wide), or $4.15 by the roll (75 yds). I should need less than 50 yds, fin included, so I paid the higher price.

I'm doing the hull in a female mold (see "Another Mold Under Construction")

When I went to spread the PVA mold release on the mold surface, it just beaded up. I'm sure it's meant for a gel coat, not polished auto paint. Vaseline was another option but not being sure how it would react with the epoxy, I went with the old standby, aluminum foil.

I mixed 8 oz of resin and 4 oz of hardener (always 2-to-1) with 4 cc's of Additive F. Did two lams with a regular 5" plastic squeegee. Had a little left over, so mixed up a second batch just like the first in the same container and did three more lams for a total of five.

Working with the epoxy was fine once I got over the jitters. There's no gel time to catch you. It just slowly warms and thickens. Loehr's hardener comes in three speeds. I'm using the 2001-S, for Slow. It gave me a good 45 min.

The mold has a tiny bit of a bow to it. Being a perfectionist, especially with someone else's board, I worked out a system to make it to cure 100% flat.

Once it set up, I moved it all inside out of the humidity and into the AC. Within a few hours it was hard and dry. It was strange not to have any smell whatsoever in the house.

I'm going to let it cure for 48 hrs, pop it out of the mold to see what I've got so far, and do five more lams. Then it will be time to pour the rails that will one day be "verde". I'm going to work with the hull in the mold for stability.

This resin is forgiving. You have forever to apply it. If you run low, you mix up more right in the container; the old stuff blends in. I've gotten it all over my hands twice now with no adverse reactions. It washes off instantly with soap (the industrial kind with pumice). There's no odor. It cures quick indoors. Pretty amazing.

I popped the first five lams out of the mold...

peeled off the foil...

and got a preview

I have special plans for those two Budweiser impressions. I also made some extra work for myself by using foil, which can't lie completely flat in a concave.

I was surprised at how strong this sheet was without being brittle. But it also wasn't as transparent as I had expected. I called Loehr. In spite of the fact that he was just back from 2 wks Down Under with 50 hrs in the air, and had done a booth the night before at the Emmy's, he was accessible as usual and in a good mood. He said epoxy resin by itself is transparent but if you use Additive F (recommended), it clouds a bit. Why use Additive F then? "Bonding issues." We don't want bonding issues.

If there are no surprises -- if this resin sands OK and the board holds up in the water -- I can't see going back to polyester.

What I did Sunday afternoon. These next five lams are staggered by 4" (nose only) to save sanding.

They went right over the first five, which were resting in the mold again.

It took 12 oz of resin, 6 oz of hardener, and 6 cc (ml) of Add F. The resin went on easy. The cloth saturated almost instantly.

Still working on keeping the tail perfectly flat.

With 10 layers, the hull is complete. Next comes the pouring and shaping of the foam. Then the deck will be glassed with 10 lams like the hull.

Thanks for the feedback, Guest.

I spent 5 hrs pouring the rails today. Hurricane Rita gave everybody the day off.

Players top to bottom: original blank, 10-lam hull, mold

Rail section removed from blank

Center section laid in hull and mold

Rail line traced

Duct tape to catch seepage

Center section foiled for pouring

Blocks to keep the joint tight

Hand-pour (liquid) foam -- equal parts of A & B go into these expensive red, white and blue beakers, are then poured together into the plastic container, mixed for 20-30 secs, and poured into place.

Not french bread but the remnants of the first rail. Trying not to undermix, I mixed too long, poured it already frothing into the rail canal, and got super puffy, soft foam, like mattress foam. I just pulled it out and did it again.