In an attempt to carry the best range of surfboard blanks available we recently added HomeBlown's BioFoam to our line. Foam E-Z prides ourselves on having the best materials available for our customers, therefore BioFoam was a no brainer to fill our MDI void. These blanks are considered to be "green" by surfboard standards. Homeblown US manufactures the Biofoam blanks in which nearly 50% of the core ingredients are from agricultural products. Biofoam is produced by replacing the polyol component of the foam with materials converted from natural plant oils.
Shaping Tips
The Biofoam surfblanks are slightly harder to plane because of their cross-linked properties. Planer blades need to be sharp and/or you need to mow the blank a little slower than typical TDI foam. If the blank is cut on the computer there is no problem. The tight cell structure and properties of MDI allow it to machine very cleanly.
Finish shaping the Biofoam surfblank is very easy to finish with the normal the shaping process used. It may feel a little on the soft side when finished but let the blank sit overnight before glassing and it will harden up tons.
GLASSING TIPS
Glassing the Biofoam surfblank takes a little extra care. While Biofoam surf blanks make great surfboards, some issues have come up as to the way they take color, airbrush in particular. While color in the laminate works great, or of course, art on the hot coat, much airbrush color on the foam crystallizes. Clear boards or those done with resin tints have been working well. If using polyester resin squeegee on a cheater coat of resin to seal the blank before you laminate. Then proceed as normal. If epoxy is used, consider the airbrush notes above, then glass as normal.
* NOTE from Homeblown: Please realize that Biofoam surfblanks are a new product and although they have been tested and make beautiful functional surfboards, all variations of color layup and airbrush have not been tried yet. We have done opaques and tints and some airbrush that have all come out well but we simply have not hit all the color range.
