Epoxy Glassing Recommendations

General Guidelines (Click to download the pdf)

1. Epoxy will not cause you problems if you handle it properly.   Always wear gloves, avoid getting it on your skin, and especially avoid washing it into your skin with acetone.   You will find it is more user friendly than polyester when you get used to it.
   
2. You must mix epoxy accurately and well to get a good result. If you do not mix epoxy accurately and well, it will not harden.
   
3. We recommend using a digital scale to mix by weight.   This is the easiest, most accurate, and most convenient way to mix.   You will not have to have clean measuring cups.   Just put your bucket on the scale, zero the scale, and go.

Bottom Lamination

1. Use less resin.   We mix about 14 ounces for a 4 oz. lamination on a 6 foot board.
   
2. Stir well.   Mix for at least one whole minute, two is better.
   
3. Wet out the glass normally.   Try using a brush to wet the laps with less resin.
   
4. Don't let the mixed epoxy sit in the bucket too long.   It will get warm and kick faster.   Once the epoxy is spread out over the board, you will have plenty of time.
   
5. Do a tight clean lamination.   Pull it as dry as you can without leaving air.
   
6. After 30 to 45 minutes, come back with a second small batch and do a thin fill coat.
7. Once the bottom is hard, grind or file the lap.

Top Lamination

1. On the deck, again do a tight clean lamination.   A wet lamination will cause more blow through from the foam (bubbles forming under the glass).
2. If you get some blow through (bubbles under the glass), work them out and check again for about 15 minutes.   Better not to add more resin over the bubble.

Epoxy Sanding Coat

1. Apply sanding coat (hotcoat) to the top just after the lamination reaches the tacky stage.   If you coat before the lamination fully hardens, the hotcoat will bond.   If you wait until it hardens, you will have to sand it and wipe it down with denatured alcohol before you hotcoat (see below).
   
2. To get the hotcoat to bond to the bottom, you will have to sand it first and wipe with denatured alcohol:   Once the deck is dry, flatten the laps on the bottom with 150 grit on a hard pad.   Then sand the whole bottom with 220 grit on a soft pad.   Hand sand the whole bottom again with a used piece of 220 to get any remaining spots.   Don't sand into the glass, but rough it up well.  
   
3. Tape off the edge and wipe the bottom with a clean cloth wetted with denatured alcohol.   Don't get it too wet.
   
4. Once the surface is dry, apply the hotcoat.   Squeegee the resin into the glass a little before brushing it out.

Polyester Sanding Coat

1. You can use polyester but you must sand the whole board and wipe with denatured alcohol.   It will stick and stay on if you do it right.   If you don't, it will chip off.
   
2. Allow lamination to dry several hours.   Flatten the bottom lap with 150 grit on a hard pad.   Sand the whole board with 220 grit on a soft pad.   Sand the whole board again by hand with a used piece of 220 grit to get any remaining spots.   Don't sand into the glass, but rough it up well.
   
3. Wipe the whole board with a clean cloth wetted with denatured alcohol.   Don't get it too wet.
   
4. Do standard pasting and hotcoating.

Postcure

1. We strongly recommend that you postcure your epoxy boards in an oven.   We postcure them for 10 hours at 130 degrees F before we sand.   The epoxy hardens noticeably and is much stronger after the postcure.   They will also take the heat in a hot car without softening.

For eps foam information go to www.markofoam.com/blanks