Johnny Rotten wrote:Kevlar will be limited by the epoxy that is coating it sure you won't wear into the fibers but you're still going to kill the matrix and top coat.
+1 for Epoxy + graphite is fun stuff, it IS pretty soft. when mixed witha little moisture it's damn slippery. So it'll tend to glide over most stuff rather than damage the coating due to the lubricity of graphite It would make sliders very fast. As for durability I did my kids toboggan in that stuff......fastest kid on the hill by a long shot but it did look beat up after dragging him across the road a few times.
I would give pick up truck bedliner spray a go...one designed specifically for abrasion resistance there are lot's of spray on solutions out there. even floor coating.
I remember getting test done for spray to prevent abrasion on a industrial trucks it was some where the steel was getting worn through. I'll try to find the name. It was super expensive and required special spray equipment though but was tougher than hardened steel.
Thanks Johnny, it would be cool to figure out the name of the industrial truck spray because then we could figure out what its made up of and what makes it tick maybe ?
The truck bedliner material that I am familiar with is sort of a black rubber thats sprayed on, but it has a pretty high friction ? Is that what you're referring to? I wonder if its possible to change the final texture with another step to make it still possible to hit kickers and sliders.
Dragging it across the road is the sort of wear I want to be able to endure, exactly.
ChristoffM wrote:You could maybe try laminating on a thin sheet of metal? I tried it once with about 0.4mm thick metal (I think it was flat zince plate). It looked OK, but then it delaminated when I flexed it. I think that if you sand off the metal before laminating it (get oils and oxides off) and if you use epoxy resin (I used polyester that time) then it might stick. Just an idea, please test before making a big piece of laminate.
I was thinking about that but it would be difficult to repair if you did gouge the crap out of it, and I cant see any metal being >hard< enough at a decent thickness re: flex. But I did say I didn't really care about ride quality...
If I had to make I would probably try kevlar. A friend of mine used it in his board once and said it is almost impossible to cut without special scissors, so I assume it must be very abrasion resistant.
The link you posted also has good advice. I don't know if I'll try graphite though. It has good slide but I think it is much softer than glass. I think the silica powder is Alluminum Oxide? It should be worth a try. It is what sand paper is made from if I remember right and I remember someone complaining about an epoxy+aluminium oxide casting that is was so hard that they could not drill holes in the casting! If drill bits don't like Aluminum oxide, then it is definitely something to try.
Kevlar and basalt are high on my list for fibres.
Hey check this : I also saw on the West Epoxy website they recommend an aluminum powder for abrasion resistance.
http://www.westsystem.com/ss/additive-selection-guide/
Sweet. Lots to think about, thanks.