Waterproof coating, any such thing?

[John C.]

Canard Zone has been very helpful for my surfboard building project using Rutan type materials and methods, finally the board is all laminated, ready for finish. Regular surfboard finish is built up resin gloss coats sanded and polished to beauty. We want to use a paint type finish to insure as close to waterPROOF as possible, beauty is secondary. All the resins soak a certain small amount of moisture and I'd think the aviation designers would address this and the players on this forum would know something about what they're thinking about composite resins water absorption and coatings to minimise it. Any thoughts please? Thank you, John C. San Diego

[CP Tomes]

Canard Zone has been very helpful for my surfboard building project using Rutan type materials and methods, finally the board is all laminated, ready for finish. Regular surfboard finish is built up resin gloss coats sanded and polished to beauty. We want to use a paint type finish to insure as close to waterPROOF as possible, beauty is secondary. All the resins soak a certain small amount of moisture and I'd think the aviation designers would address this and the players on this forum would know something about what they're thinking about composite resins water absorption and coatings to minimise it. Any thoughts please? Thank you, John C. San Diego

 

Maybe paint?

[vonjet]

Interlux. They make water barrier primers. Its called Interprotect 2000 or 3000. You can get it at www.westmarine.com

[Limo EZ]

Hi John,

The Interlux product should work. Funny, I used to build sailboards and sailed alot in San Diego and now I am building an airplane. I used to belong to the General Dynamics Windsurffing Club.

 

Joe Berki

[Lynn Erickson]

Canard Zone has been very helpful for my surfboard building project using Rutan type materials and methods, finally the board is all laminated, ready for finish. Regular surfboard finish is built up resin gloss coats sanded and polished to beauty. We want to use a paint type finish to insure as close to waterPROOF as possible, beauty is secondary. All the resins soak a certain small amount of moisture and I'd think the aviation designers would address this and the players on this forum would know something about what they're thinking about composite resins water absorption and coatings to minimise it. Any thoughts please? Thank you, John C. San Diego

I believe you have that backwards, the surfboard was built a long time before Rutan came along and used the same materials and methods to build an airplane.

I was building surfboards using dock foam and epoxy back in 1962 ( very nasty stuff back then )

My Son has been building surfboards for 10 years using west epoxy and they all float. the amount of water absorbed on the amount of resin used in a board would be like 1 nano micron. the problem with water is not the water absorbed by the resin, it is the water that leaks in between the glass and the foam as in pin holes but if coated with the clear resin and sanded smooth this is not much of a problem. a surfboard only stays in the water for a few hours at a time. these resins are used in building boats that stay in the water for years. paint has been used on boards but it just adds weight and gets scratched of from use. if looks are secondary then coat with clear resin and hit the surf. besides a Cool board does not make you a Cool Surfer Dude. and the board that looks the worst is almost always the board that works the best.