Coating a Front Wing and Stabilizer

[watercamper]

Two of my wing and stabilizer sets are showing their age. I am thinking about coating them. I've started to get carbon dust when I have to sand out scratches. I've read about the information on not having shiny wings and sanding them for speed. That is doable after coating them.

I figure the easy way is a spray can of clear Acrylic, like Rustoleum. An oil based acrylic. A second choice would be to just brush on a coat of epoxy. Both are sandable after application.

Have any of you done this? With these products? Or, others? Thoughts? Opinions?

[fleetrico]

Use a good 2k clear or rattle can like max2k .Male sure you hang it leading edge down when you spray it or it will be hard to sand out the run on the trailing edge .Let it cure for a few days then wet sand out to desired level of satin finish. Put auto wax on the fuse where it contacts the wing or expect it to be a failure point when you separate the wing in the future .

[Nak]

Use a good 2k clear or rattle can like max2k .Male sure you hang it leading edge down when you spray it or it will be hard to sand out the run on the trailing edge .Let it cure for a few days then wet sand out to desired level of satin finish. Put auto wax on the fuse where it contacts the wing or expect it to be a failure point when you separate the wing in the future .

Good, but incomplete, advice. The 2K clear is absolutely the way to go, IF you have the appropriate safety gear. The 2K clear has extremely hazardous chemicals that need proper handling. (Fresh air respirator, full body protection, etc.) If you do not have experience with this gear and are unwilling to obtain and use this gear, STAY AWAY FROM 2K CLEARS!!!! There have been documented cases of people dying from just one exposure to this stuff. Seriously. Yes, it's an extreme case, but exposing yourself to the chemicals in this paint carries with it an extremely high chance that eventually you will die of cancer caused by the exposure. Ask yourself if it's worth it. Regular fizz can clear is good enough if you don't have the required safety gear.

The wax on the fuse is a good idea, a very thin wiping of Tefgel will work better--but be messier.

[watercamper]

I had read abt the 2K product. It has a use life of only 24 hour. As I have more than one to do and plan to have others over time, I disregarded it. I like the idea of just spraying on some acrylic. Pretty easy. No thoughts on just brushing on epoxy?

[Nak]

No thoughts on just brushing on epoxy?

I haven't tried it, but if I were going to I think I'd try using SolarEZ. I've seen that used on both surfboards and bar tops. Brush it on, hang the part, let it mostly drip off, so you're left with a very thin coat, and then expose it to UV. You can do the UV a bit at a time so you get it just hard enough to sand the drips off the leading edge--which would have been pointing down while dripping. Then fully expose the part to UV to harden it. That would give a very durable finish for sure.

[StellaBlu]

No thoughts on just brushing on epoxy?

I haven't tried it, but if I were going to I think I'd try using SolarEZ. I've seen that used on both surfboards and bar tops. Brush it on, hang the part, let it mostly drip off, so you're left with a very thin coat, and then expose it to UV. You can do the UV a bit at a time so you get it just hard enough to sand the drips off the leading edge--which would have been pointing down while dripping. Then fully expose the part to UV to harden it. That would give a very durable finish for sure.

What SolarEZ product are you referring to? Ive used SolarEZ on board dings numerous times and its very thick and cures extremely fast. I can't see it working for this application at all - unless there is another product Im not familiar with.

Ive used regular clear coat (not the fancy 2k stuff) on foils numerous times. Never to clear coat an entire foil, but Ive used it to perfect a finish after modifying foils and stabilizers and it works perfectly. Ive also sprayed it on after making board repairs. If you just need to refinish and add a small amount of material to re-sand, regular clear coat works perfectly fine. caveat that I'm surfing and freeriding and not racing.

[watercamper]

Interesting. I just finished a board repair using the Ding All UV resin. It is VERY THICK. Doesn't really run. Takes work to brush it on. I also use SolarEZ to fill nicks and gouges in my wings. It's thick and stays in place so I can easily do a small buildup on a leading edge gouge. A few minutes in the sun and some sandpaper and I'm ready to go.

Nak: Which SolerEZ product is thin? The one I use is in a small tube and is thick. The one I was thinking about trying is this:
https://dingall.com/collections/ding-al ... xy-3oz-set
StellaBlu: Which clear coat have you used? The acrylic spray that I am talking about is pretty thin but a few coats might do what I want. it might be time to experiment.
Nak: BTW, do you go to Baja? I seem to remember that you do. I kite Rasta. You?

[StellaBlu]

Interesting. I just finished a board repair using the Ding All UV resin. It is VERY THICK. Doesn't really run. Takes work to brush it on. I also use SolarEZ to fill nicks and gouges in my wings. It's thick and stays in place so I can easily do a small buildup on a leading edge gouge. A few minutes in the sun and some sandpaper and I'm ready to go.

Nak: Which SolerEZ product is thin? The one I use is in a small tube and is thick. The one I was thinking about trying is this:
https://dingall.com/collections/ding-al ... xy-3oz-set
StellaBlu: Which clear coat have you used? The acrylic spray that I am talking about is pretty thin but a few coats might do what I want. it might be time to experiment.
Nak: BTW, do you go to Baja? I seem to remember that you do. I kite Rasta. You?

Ive used standard Rustoleum matte clear (acrylic) and it works fine. You need to do several light coats to build it up to a sandable finish. Everything Ive done with it looks 100% factory finished after I sand it.

My experience with and application for SolarEz is the same as yours.

[watercamper]

I'm going to go the epoxy route. Here's my reasoning. If I apply an acrylic coating to the wing and later, I have to do a repair with an epoxy, now I have a sandwich of epoxy over acrylic to epoxy. My experience with coatings suggest that the weakest link fails first and to try and avoid dissimilar products. Epoxy/acrylic/Epoxy.

Now, if I use epoxy resin to coat and later have to do a quick repair, I have epoxy repair over epoxy resin "clear coat" over epoxy original. Epoxy/Epoxy/Epoxy. Looks better to me.

So I am looking for small amounts of epoxy resin with good flow characteristics, UV stability, less blushing or pinholes, etc. I found a 6 oz from Greenlight surf but they are sold out. Any other US dealers? Looking for about 3 - 6 oz total resin and hardener, fast cure preferred. Ding All has a 3 oz that looks good but info about it is not abundant.

[Nak]

Yeah, the ding repair SolarEZ is a gel, very thick. I'd go with something like this--if I was to try epoxy instead of fizz can paint. (Bear in mind I've not done this in this particular application.)

StellaBlu, I'm not sure why you think SolarEZ cures extremely fast? It doesn't cure at all until you expose it to UV. This would give it a chance to mostly drip off, leaving a very thin coat. Then you hit it with UV for a bit, sand as required, then fully cure it with more UV.

WaterCamper, I'd try this on a test subject first.

BTW, I'm a Los Barriles person over Ventana...