: Hello all,

: Not sure where the post I just typed went so I'm retyping again...

: I know that Nick uses a squeegee to apply epoxy, and in surfboard
: building videos it seems everyone is using a squeegee. Well,
: Nick wrote the book, and has done probably 50 times the epoxying
: I have, but I just wanted to throw this out and see if anyone
: else is using a foam roller for the expoxy application as
: opposed to the squeegee method. In my humble opinion, and you
: know what they say about opinions, using a foam roller to apply
: the epoxy uses less epoxy for the wet-out. I'm building wood
: surfboards and getting a much lighter weight than other guys
: building the same size board with the same materials. Of course
: even between species of wood there are a lot of variations in
: weight, but I believe by rolling on the epoxy as thin as
: possible with a foam roller I may be saving a bit on weight.
: After the first coat I still have the weave pattern showing, but
: the cloth is saturated fully. The second coat fills the weave.
: The first coat when cured almost looks matte because of the
: weave showing through. There are no "shiny" spots
: where the resin is thicker- a very even application. With the
: squeegee I seem to get a thicker first coat, and have difficulty
: getting an even coat. I also often get foam in the resin. Maybe
: I'm doing something wrong with the squeegee method? Anyway, with
: the roller it takes a lot longer. I use about 5 pumps of resin
: for each batch, and pour it out in a thin line across the kayak
: or surfboard, and then roll it out with very short back and
: forth strokes of the roller. It probably takes two or three
: times as long as squeegeeing, but in my opinion it gives a lot
: more control of how much resin you put on.

: So just for discussion, do you roll or squeegee? Your thoughts on
: either/or are welcome. I'm sure there are advantages and
: disadvantages to both methods.

Whatever works for you, there are no hard and fast rules here. I find the roller tends to lift the glass as it passes and tends to create air pockets under the glass, but that's just me. I use a brush and then squeegie the excess off.

I use a roller though to apply finish coats and use it for varnish too.

Bill H.