> Fiberglass boats off the rack don't come with 10 coats of varnish. Why do
> we do it after glassing strippers? Surfboards don't come varnished and
> they seem to take quite a beating and look good...so whats the deal? UV?
> Shine? Just courious - so is my surfer buddy ---

Strippers usually use a different resin (epoxy), which is more sensitive to UV light than the resin used for building surfboards or solid fiberglass canoes/kayaks (polyester with a gel coat).

If you don't like varnish there are other toppings you can use over the epoxy resin to block UV, including urethanes, polyurethanes, shellac, lacqurers and paints. Generally you want a clear topping which can block the UV. Paint, of course destroys the beauty of being able to see that wood under the finish.

With surfboards you get some colored pigment mixed into the resin to give it its color. This serves the same purpose as paint--it is opaque and blocks UV penetration. If you mixed an opaque pigment into your epoxy it would probably age about the same as a surfboard. Paul Jacobson