Some polyester and epoxy boards waiting in line for the next step at the SUPERbrand factory.
Okay, so you just received a new board from your local shaper. A question we’re often is asked is, “Do I really need to wait and let my board ‘cure’ before I can surf it?” Truthfully, there is no simple answer to this question, and the response will vary depending on who you talk to. Although we won’t be able to reach any absolute “truth” by the end of this article, we will at least leave with food for thought when considering heading straight to the beach from the glass shop with your new board.
The curing debate has been going on since the dawn of surfboard glassing. And to be honest, the real answer varies depending on the type and/or brand of resin used, as well as the quality of the fiberglass and blanks used. So let’s break down the two main types of resin and go over a few points that can lead to things like pressure dents.
Polyester Resins and Cure Times
Polyester has been a staple resin since shapers wanted to keep Balsa wood boards water tight. To this day, polyester has more competitors – like epoxy, for example – but it still remains the industry standard for the majority of surfboards produced around the world.
Most, if not all, polyester resins are thermosetting, which means they need an added chemical to heat them up so they can set hard. This is know as catalyst, or MEKP (methyl ethyl ketone peroxide). Glass shops also have to be aware of the ambient temperature in the room they are working in. The optimal room temperature to get the best cure and results is around 78 degrees. With the optimal amount of catalyst, which is usually around 1 to 1.5 percent ratio and the 78-degree room temperature, a glass job should be about 98 percent cured in around an hour and a half.
But to show how critical the environment and your chemical ratios are, a room at 68 degrees can take somewhere between 2 and 7 days for a board to cure. So, assuming your catalyst ratios are spot on and your ambient temperature is at the optimal 78 degrees, you should be able surf your board the same day it is glassed.
Some people argue this and claim that you still need to wait a few days or even weeks before you surf your board. Others argue you can ride it when it stops smelling like resin. I’m not saying those people are wrong, but maybe they are not taking into consideration other factors involved, including the foam and glass.
A PU blank of unknown density getting shaped up by Blake Peters of Panda Surfboards.
You can get blanks of various densities depending on what you are looking for. There are the ultra lightweight blanks, which are usually reserved for competition boards where even an ounce of weight matters. Conversely, super heavy, high density blanks are commonly used in traditional style longboards. Obviously, the high density blanks are going to be more resistant to things like pressure dents.
The ounce, style, and finish of a fiberglass cloth can play a factor, too. Your super lightweight glass jobs like single four ounce deck and bottom are not going to hold up as well as a board glassed stronger with either a combination of four ounce and six ounce, straight up six ounce, or even using eight and 10 ounce cloths. Also, the finish of the cloth can matter. You can have two four ounce cloths, but one is finished as an S cloth (structural cloth), which will be a little more resilient than your standard E cloth. (Feel free to check out What to Know About Glassing a Surfboard to read up a little more about surfboard glassing and fabrics).
Mick Fanning on a Ducks Nuts Replica with Ultra Lite 4×4 glassing is going to be way more prone to pressure dents, buckling or even breaking compared to Asher Pacey’s Sweetspot 2.0 with bulletproof glassing.
Epoxy Resins and Cure Times
Epoxy resins are a little different and a lot more critical to get your measurement ratio’s and ambient room temperatures correct. They are not as forgiving to work with as polyester resins, so people who have issues with uncured or simply poorly constructed boards may have to look back at when their board was glassed, by who, and in what the environment.
Generally speaking, most epoxy resins take about five days or so to fully cure. But you have to keep in mind that by the time you actually get your board from your shaper or the glass shop way more than five days would have passed since it was laminated. So you should be able to head straight down for a surf.
However, if the laminating room is cooler, your board will need some cure time. Many shops that specialize in epoxy boards use temperature controlled rooms and will have a post cure room where they crank the temperature up to fully cure a board in a matter of hours as opposed to days. Of course, you face the added elements as you would with a polyester glass job. The blank density, type, and style plays a major role.
Some guys prefer to get a little denting. A few shapers we know have team riders who will take their board out right away, creating the foot dents when they surf, and then go and post cure the board again after their surf. Perfect little foot wells help assist with airs and other high performance maneuvers.
This is what the floors look like when glass shops do plenty of poly and epoxy boards.
Summary
When it comes down to it, the reality is that by the time you are handed your board by most shapers or glass shops, your board is more than likely fully cured. There is no conclusive evidence to tip the scale in favor of one notion or the other. So it’s always a good thing to check with your shaper and glasser. We have seen plenty of people who have waited a long time to surf their fresh board due to poor surf or injury, and they still get pressure dents everywhere. On the flip side, we have seen plenty of people surf boards the same day they were glassed and have yet to put a pressure dent anywhere on the board.
When you add all the other factors involved in making a surfboard it’s hard to pin point what could be the cause of pressure dents, snapped, or buckled boards, or even crushed rails. Some people are just more heavy-footed than others. Some take pristine care of their equipment and some are happy to just throw their board in the back of a hot car and go get some lunch.
Make sure you check out the Board Engine at Boardcave.com to find a range of boards all made by professional shapers at the top of their crafts.
