I've worked at this surfboard thing for a long time and one of the things that has bothered me is how much resin gets wasted in the lamination, or fiberglassing process.

It takes a certain amount of resin to saturate the fiberglass cloth over a bottom or deck of a board, but in order to "wet out" the lap the most common technique is to curtain the cloth that hangs down over the rails of the board with a resin pour. It takes a fair amount of resin to get the cloth that becomes the lap saturated and in the process maybe at least half the resin used to wet the lap ends up on the floor. The floors where surfboards are laminated are lined with a covering for protection.

Anyone that has ventured into a laminating room knows… there is plenty of hardened resin on the floors in the shape of a surfboard around the stands. The stuff builds up over time making the floor uncomfortable to walk on. At that point the floor covering needs to be picked up and a new floor covering is put down until the resin builds up again and then… repeat. Some shops build trays that are attached to the stands to catch the lap resin. The trays are lined with plastic so after the resin dries it can be lifted out of the tray and discarded. The floors stay clean longer but usually will need a new covering over the long run.

Photo by Matthias Arni

Some laminators are really efficient in their application and technique using less resin than others do to get the lap done. I for one am not one of those guys. But, over the last month I’ve been perfecting a process using a small foam roller on my laps. The technique provides good resin saturation and tucks the lap at the same time. There is very little resin dropped on floor and easily a third less resin used over all when laminating a board.

They say… “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. Well, this dog is stoked! I am now not only saving material but this new technique gets the job done better too. A better job, a better surfboard.

D.R.