Hi Guys

Been battling to find PBT/Durasurf where I am. Was wondering if anyone knows of a suitable alternative I could use. After looking around it seems UHMWPE (Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene) is what these products are made from but I can't find any under 5mm which it obviously to thick.

Do you want to use it for a skin or a rail?
It is difficult to bond and shape a solid peace of UHMW-PE. Surface must be treated (chemical etching) in order to bond.

I've known about snowboard materials for a long time, not what I'm getting at but thanks

Ok found some alternatives. UHMW PE would be first choice but I have yet to find a source in my Country that has sheets in thickness of 0.800mm - 1mm which would be ideal. Thinest I've found is 8mm not ideal.

Trolling the web I've found that PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) or TPU (Thermopastic Polyurethane) seems to be good substitute. TPU btw is used to make most of the bladders in kites. Kicker is that both products don't seem to have the same abrasion resistance as UHMW so the decks could take a bit of a hammering if you hitting sliders all the time. 2011 Cabrinha's have TPU top and bottom sheets. 2012 RRD boards are using PET.

Have not found a good source for TPU film yet. I will getting 6 meters of PET film next week to try out. Nice thing about PET and TPU is that it is clearer not opaque as is the case with UHMW.

Anyone used PET or TPU yet?

You could email www.crownplastics.com/ and see if they have material wide enough. I get snowboard base from them which is standard 1.3mm thick and 13in wide. They seem to have expanded their products lately looking at the website.

Good luck.
Stan

Thanks Stan, been in contact with Crown but they have no distributor in South Africa. Durasurf (UHME PE) is their product and pretty much the industry norm for snowboarding. Looking for something a little closer to home without all the PT of importing.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150643608869554&set=a.10150155989434554.349069.292030724553&type=1&theater

I have a roll of TFB (Treated For Bonding) DuraSurf imported to UK from Crown Plastics if you are interested in a few metres. It works out at 15 GBP per linear metre plus P&P. Dimensions of roll are: 0.75 mm x 450mm x 30000 mm in Natural (Clear) colour.

They only were able to sell me 30metres which is far more than I need.
Details on my Facebook blog above.

Thanks Joe, I might just take you up on the offer. Have you had any luck printing on the product?

I haven't tried dye sublimation printing on it yet.
I just apply a simple cut gold foil logo into the prepreg carbon base layup.
The carbon weave doesn't show but the logo does.....
e.g.
Pic below supplied by my 2007 Sponsored Rider Sam Lawman
Base has a 0.7mm layer as grind protection.

Hi JMF
Did you manage to find something that work for a topsheet in SA.
I got some PETG (0.7mm) and HDPE (1mm) from Maizey's in Paarden Island yesterday.
Tried out some samples last night with epoxy and paint, will see tonight.
The 0.7 -1mm seems to be to thick. It will probably work fine for flat surfaces, but I think it's going to be difficult on boards with sharp profiles at least with a vacuum bag process
All the older Boards that I have stripped uses a lot thinner plastic layers, more towards 0.25mm.

What was the thickness of the PET film that you manage to find and did you get something to stick to it?