I know this isn't swaylocks but...

Poly is the way to go for aesthetics. And lets face it... if you were after performance, you'd have gone with foam. Wood boards are all about looks and glide.

 

I'd suggest you post it to Swaylocks where I'm sure you'll learn that you glass wood boards with epoxy. For the most shine many of the wood board guys are using automotive clear coat as a finish coat.

 

Need to baste the board first with lam resin (if going with poly, never glassed with epoxy) to let the wood out gas, if not, you will have a lot of air bubbles in lam. search through swaylocks, there always way more information than ever needed on there.

 

Are you saying that "bling" on a surfboard is important?? That is soooo ghetto of you!!!
Pull up your pants!!! And go take up "extreme knitting" for you sport--surfing isn't for you!!

 

What you've heard is true. Epoxy is stronger, will last longer, bonds better, etc... but is very difficult to get a high shine with and can tend to be a bit cloudy, especially if you don't have a lot of experience working with the stuff. Poly is crystal clear and can be polished to a brilliant shine. Poly is what was always used before surfboard-grade epoxies came along. Both are still widely used today in making wooden surfboards (and wooden boats) but the trend lately is to use epoxy due to it's strength and durability.

 

This is great advice. Good looking board too!

 

id go with epoxy and then a uv marine varnish as a gloss coat. certain varnishes will give u that gloss or satin look. wEst system is the best but I've used resin research with good results too. west system offers a special clear hardener which i recommend for uv protection and its finish quality. Do u plan on glassing it ?

 

i like epoxy because it doesn't smell usually. polyester is nasty to smell and if u breathe it you'll taste it when you exhale, the esters are really gross. its the kind of stuff that kills people in the boat making industry.

if you want a glossy look then use epoxy with a final varnish on top of the sanded epoxy. Varnishes can be really nice to work with and they are great to give you that final perfect look, as where wet sanding epoxy to a finish does work its time-consuming and won't give you a gloss but a satin. I highly recommend west system epoxy with a varnish final coat. Me personally I wouldn't ever consider poly on a wood board. Poly is nice for the foam boards because it cuts down laminating times and it has some characteristics that make it preferred for mas producing but its all opinions anyway. Im sure poly would be fine tho if thats what you decide.

 

It is easier to work with only because it slowly thickens to the B stage, rather than suddenly kicks. Although you can catalyze poly resin lightly to get a longer work time, epoxies... especially the "slow" formulas... are more user friendly. Just make sure of two things... get it out of the bucket fast once it's mixed (it will quickly exotherm and build up heat as a large volume in a bucket), and although it has a longer work time, don't over work it. Doing so quickly fills the mix with microbubbles of air that make the resin cloudy... and there's no getting it clear after that. What you're left with is a milky lam or hotcoat, and your beautiful board is... less beautiful.

 

Glide is an aspect of performance, just saying.

 

No need to do that, just drill a small pilot hole where the vent will go.

Swaylocks sucks btw.

 

Because every man jack over there on Sways ripped you a complete new one, gnome. They didn't put up with your obnoxious, arrogant, ignorant, narcissistic, provincial, poseur bearded clam of a rambling diarrhea of the mouf flapping gash.

And....you got banned from Sways for your insane ramblings in re how the Holocaust was a fiction.

May I just say to you....... RANDY RARICK REVIEW of GNOME's BOARDS

 

You are out of line there boy, but ultimately hate hurts the hater.

There was zero content about the historical accounts of WW2 on Swaylocks from me, just saying. It's not even a subject that I'm particularly interested in.

You are off topic as well.

 

I know the swellnet group think your an assclown hahahaaahha

 

I don't hate you, gnome. You're not worthy of the energy expenditure.

What Bagus said.

And you conveniently ignored the fact, gnome, and the fact is you are banned for life from Sways.
Reason: as previously cited, you're a total self-inflated assclown.

 

Only two people have ever had the distinction of being banned for life from that forum, and I am one of them.

To be frank it was a great backhanded compliment.

What is more, the site owner freely admitted that I had broken no rules, but that I had caused others to break the rules. In short, their esteemed core blowhard members were the 'assclowns', they were making idiots of themselves in public, a fact which was becoming embarrassing to the club as a whole. It had to stop before some of them got so angry that they had heart attacks. In fact one of them (initials 'BB)did after writing me a 3 page abusive pm.

I gained a few good friends through the debacle, who are worth more than the rest of them combined.

I know that you have trouble comprehending anything above navel level, but perhaps your dog can read so here it is.

 

It's impressive that you have conducted a survey of all the members... it shows dedication to the cause... well done!