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Why Don't Polys Delam like they used to?

Aruka

Aruka

Tom Curren status
Feb 23, 2010
12,172
23,140
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PNW
It's a pretty good illustration of why monopolization in the economy is problematic.

I remember for a long time the Clark blanks were sought after. Maybe they still are. My dad had a stash of blanks in the rafters and I shaped a couple boards from them. Later on I shaped some US blanks with ply stringers and they were much nicer I thought. I'm sure they've only gotten better since then.
 
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EastCoastBrah

Legend (inyourownmind)
Nov 16, 2020
501
461
63
Aruka said:
It's a pretty good illustration of why monopolization in the economy is problematic.

I remember for a long time the Clark blanks were sought after. Maybe they still are. My dad had a stash of blanks in the rafters and I shaped a couple boards from them. Later on I shaped some US blanks with ply stringers and they were much nicer I thought. I'm sure they've only gotten better since then.
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I remember this too. I was working in a surf shop and we marked up everything with clark foam (which was every poly in the shop), and even put a couple nicer boards not for sale. Funny now knowing it was clark foam causing the delam making a significantly worse product. I guess people just didn't know then, had been using clark foam forever.
 
Homie

Homie

Miki Dora status
Sep 2, 2005
3,935
146
63
I was talking to a guy from Brazil the other day who was saying we use better materials here in the USA and that the surfboards made in Brazil don't hold up well.
 
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EastCoastBrah

Legend (inyourownmind)
Nov 16, 2020
501
461
63
While we're at it - do the newer blanks suck up less water? Saw a shaper on IG talking about they don't fix dings on their polys a lot of the time, couldn't tell if they were joking - sounded absurd. I remember some dings sucking up water bad.
 
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One-Off

One-Off

Tom Curren status
Jul 28, 2005
14,240
10,439
113
33.8N - 118.4W
I thought Clark closed because his factory was once somewhat isolated and over time they started building big Mc Mansions nearby and the newbie neighbors started complaining.

At the time the only other bank manufacturer in California that I knew of was Walker Foam. I visited both factories. What a world of difference. Clark was like a well oiled machine and everybody seemed to be busy and know what they were doing. Walker was the opposite. It was like everyone was drinking Sleepytime and on siesta ( if my memory serves me the factory was in Wilmington). Walker had a window of opportunity but I think he was just not driven. They went under not long after.

The Clark closing was a blessing for me because it turned me on to alternate build methods.

I met Grubby once. When they talk about him being like a mafia don, it was no joke. My encounter with him in his office was like meeting the Godfather.
 
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jkb

jkb

Tom Curren status
Feb 22, 2005
10,118
9,202
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Central California
My recollection is Grubby closed shop due to a combination of environmental regs, neighbor complaints, and a lawsuit from former employee(s) claiming their cancer was caused by working with the blank chemicals.
 
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Duffy LaCoronilla

Duffy LaCoronilla

Duke status
Apr 27, 2016
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caelho said:
As I recall Clark was dealing with the epa and new regulations. He had to change his formula to be compliant. As I remember at the time there were lots of boards that had issues with blow throughs, tiny little holes from the foam gassing after being glassed. This might have been a factor in delams, along with all the other info mentioned.
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South Coast AQMD did him in.
 
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JDJ

Miki Dora status
Mar 1, 2014
4,881
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The OC
freeride76 said:
The Aussie pu/pe's hold up insanely well these days.

Looking at my year and half old Pyzalien and it's barely dented.
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The Aussie blanks seem to set the standard for denting and over longevity. Noel Salas even mentioned in one of his latest reviews, maybe of a JS Australian build.
 
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Duffy LaCoronilla

Duffy LaCoronilla

Duke status
Apr 27, 2016
39,178
28,783
113
Aruka said:
It's a pretty good illustration of why monopolization in the economy is problematic.

I remember for a long time the Clark blanks were sought after. Maybe they still are. My dad had a stash of blanks in the rafters and I shaped a couple boards from them. Later on I shaped some US blanks with ply stringers and they were much nicer I thought. I'm sure they've only gotten better since then.
Click to expand...
Clark blanks were always sh!t compared to what we get now.
 
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oneworlded

oneworlded

Administrator
Jun 4, 2004
3,631
2,658
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Murrica
chrisdixonreports.com
I had a Harbour San O 9'6" that I'm 99 percent certain had a Clark Blank. It was an insanely good board - until it started having issues with the foam. It delaminated, took on water and generally went to sh!t so fast I couldn't believe it. It was like a cascade of failures. Looking back, I can't blame Rich. I can blame Grubby's sh!t blank.
 
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bluemarlin04

Michael Peterson status
Aug 13, 2015
2,565
2,383
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Sharky said:
Had written a business plan, gotten a bank loan and bought a brand new shaping machine when asshole pulled the rug. Nothing to cut and loan payments to make. Then I was cutting a dozen different blank formulations and every rocker was a mystery. And we were way better off without Grubby. Good riddance.
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I heard he also destroyed a bunch of molds when he went under just out of spite.
Read that in an article somewhere
 
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