keeping it cool

[boardlady]

what's the silvery material on the new board Corran is building for Strand Leper? is it a tint of some sort to the Carbon, or a different material altogether? I am wondering, because I have a windsurfing mast with the same finish that has retained its elasticity far longer than any of the "natural" carbon finished masts I've gone through - even lying in the sun on a hot summer day in the high desert, it is cool to the touch, while my standard carbons are too hot to handle in those same conditions.

[DavidJohn]

Is that the Naish Fire Stick?... I've also seen an FCS fin with that same/similar type material.

DJ

[NLCHAWAII]

Hexcel weaves it under the name TEXILIUM . Its aluminum coated yarns of e-glass . It is purely aesthetic and is not a structural plus whatsoever over conventional clear e-glass and defiantly not to be confused with carbon fiber . If you handle it to roughly or even slightly touch it while sanding , you create a dark shadow area by sanding or rubbing off the aluminum . It comes in a rainbow of colors , even black and is sometime used to fool the customer into thinking its really carbon fiber . Pretty material though . You can get the China version of the stuff through the Albida dist. corp.

[boardlady]

my cool mast is a North Viper. It is labeled "100% Carbon" (made in Italy, so the 100% Carbon might mean just that , and the silvery outer texture is at least the equivalent of a 6oz, so I am still thinking coated Carbon. Sure would love to get my hands on some for my next project!