About to buy an upgrade board for 13 yr old son (35kg). It would appear that most shop boards in that 5'8 to 6'0 range don't have a gloss coat. I would have thought that this meant less resin, less strength and less water proof? The shops are obviously trying to sell to a price but conversations with old glassers recommend getting a gloss coat for strength and ease of repair.

Any comments?

To me, a gloss coat is an additional, non-necessary coat of resin that does not include any additional glass, and is for appearance purposes only. It adds weight, but not strength.

Although this article seems to say otherwise: www.surfscience.com/topics/surfboard-design-and-anatomy/materials/sand-finish-vs-gloss-finish

"The downside to this process is the fact that a sanded finish is more porous, which can lead to water damage and deterioration"

Is this actually true? I've never had a problem with my boards...

Yep that's true DL, I guess that most short boards don't last long enuff to worry about it. as far as weight goes I've got a Burton that has been polished and it's the lightest board I've got. I always store my boards out of the cover, keeps em dry. Seems to work.

I don't think a well sanded and finished gloss coat would add a lot of weight to a board, at least not enough for the average surfer like me to notice. When I used to attempt to make boards, I found that the initial sanding of the hotcoat left lots of little pinholes which were filled in by the gloss coat. so from that perspective it helped the water proofing but they don't add any strength.

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doggie said...

I guess that most short boards don't last long enuff to worry about it.

How long is long enough? I have a 10 year old non gloss coated custom that is still going strong.

Most sanded boards from the professional maufacturers are sprayed with a clear finish,or should be ( various brand names, pro finish etc,similar to 2pac paint)which is kind of a substitute for the gloss, makes them less permeable ,uv resistant etc doesn't hurt to sand the area of the board before you fit the tail pad.
The type of glass is far more important ,4oz 6oz ,how many layers etc.
You can always sort the sales staff out if you ask whether it is 4 or 6 oz glass on the polyester boards !!
6'0 shortboard seems a little long for 35kg kid?
But its always horses for courses!
Great that you are prepared to buy him a board......
"Back in my day.....we used to have to blah blah blah.................with an old footy jumper.......and we thought we were lucky ."

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DL said...

doggie said...

I guess that most short boards don't last long enuff to worry about it.

How long is long enough? I have a 10 year old non gloss coated custom that is still going strong.

Do you keep it in a bag? Ive seen boards that have gone soft in spots and then turned to dust when dried out. I did some ding repair on one recently, took a while to fix but got there in the end. Q cell is my friend

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doggie said...


Do you keep it in a bag? Ive seen boards that have gone soft in spots and then turned to dust when dried out.

It's not in a bag and it hasn't gone soft.

Good glass job DL, is it a wet rub finish?

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doggie said...

Yep that's true DL, I guess that most short boards don't last long enuff to worry about it. as far as weight goes I've got a Burton that has been polished and it's the lightest board I've got. I always store my boards out of the cover, keeps em dry. Seems to work.

Actually Doggie your Bourton is not polished, does not have a finish coat and does not have a spray clear finish as Prawnhead mentions.

It is true as is mentioned above that many sanded finish boards are more porous. If you hold a board up to the lights and look along the rail line particularly on the bottom along the rail and can see dry weave in the glass this may mean that your board has been sanded past the resin and into the cloth. A clear spray finish can seal this and will not leak. It also hides it in most cases.

The Bourton and BASE boards also many other reputable brands are made with a different glassing / sanding system that allows them to not compromise the strength of the glass by sanding through along the laps and also allows them to finer sand to an almost polished finish like Doggies board. They look great, are not porous and as mentioned retain the light weight.

Actual finished coated boards like Mals etc are basically fully sanded and finished and then have a very thin, runny finish coat resin added which is then very fine sanded and polished with a pad and cutting compound. Any composites manual will tell you that especially polyester resin does not have much mechanical strength.

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CMC said...

doggie said...

Yep that's true DL, I guess that most short boards don't last long enuff to worry about it. as far as weight goes I've got a Burton that has been polished and it's the lightest board I've got. I always store my boards out of the cover, keeps em dry. Seems to work.

Actually Doggie your Bourton is not polished, does not have a finish coat and does not have a spray clear finish as Prawnhead mentions.

It is true as is mentioned above that many sanded finish boards are more porous. If you hold a board up to the lights and look along the rail line particularly on the bottom along the rail and can see dry weave in the glass this may mean that your board has been sanded past the resin and into the cloth. A clear spray finish can seal this and will not leak. It also hides it in most cases.

The Bourton and BASE boards also many other reputable brands are made with a different glassing / sanding system that allows them to not compromise the strength of the glass by sanding through along the laps and also allows them to finer sand to an almost polished finish like Doggies board. They look great, are not porous and as mentioned retain the light weight.

Actual finished coated boards like Mals etc are basically fully sanded and finished and then have a very thin, runny finish coat resin added which is then very fine sanded and polished with a pad and cutting compound. Any composites manual will tell you that especially polyester resin does not have much mechanical strength.

Master Yoda has spoken