Ski Builders Forum

I am trying to find some clear topsheet material for skis. Skibuilders and snowboardmaterials are both out of stock. Does anyone have any ideas???

http://www.curbellplastics.com/

Not sure what you want for a topsheet, but they pretty much have everything. i use them for work, never an issue.

The problem I can see is treating the top sheet for bonding.
Durasurf topsheet is treated and bonds very well.
Buying thin uhmw-pe or abs and trying to get it to bond would be nothing short of a nightmare for me.


Waiting patiently for skibuilders to get more in stock.

sam

While im not sure, you may beable to have it flame treated though crubell (ill have to call)

Just skimming there catalon, Polyimide film has all the same basic charateristics as uhmw-pe except its also listed as 'easy to bond'

Unforunatly PBT and polyimide are 3-4x stiffer (and 3-7x the cost), thats something to consider aswell

Thanks for your replies. i will check out that supplier. However, i may be better to just wait until skibuilders gets it in stock.

If your ski dimensions aren't that wide, I might have some for you that would work. PM me if interested.

Bump of this topic as I'm also looking for some clear topsheet right now but let's try to make it more complete.

For now I used 2 kinds of topsheets : White PBT (from snowboardmaterials and from a local manufacturer) and clear matte nylon (from SBM as well).

When I went to the local manufacturer to get my printed topsheets he showed me some samples of topsheets with patterns on it (I believe it was PBT) but didn't have any other material on hand. I tried PBT topsheets but for skis I had better chip resistance with the nylon topsheet.


The question is who are the manufacturers of all those kinds of topsheets :

I gave a call to Crown Plastics (Durasurf) and they do have UHMW topsheet, same material as their base material but thinner. I don't know if it comes clear or in color and if the finish is gloss or matte though.

Where are all those PBT topsheets manufactured (I mean by who ?) : gloss, with pattern...

What material really is this nylon topsheet they sell at SBM, it comes with a nice protective sheet which is a plus. It would be what I'm looking for as I tried and liked it (to be used directly as a clear topsheet, not involving a third party for printing) but SBM doesn't have it in stock anymore...

Thanks

check these guys out.


http://www.isosport.com/en/index.php?op ... &Itemid=15

good luck with that 1200m minimum quantity, or whatever minimum quantity the Iso guys decide to quote you depending on how they feel that day. I've been quoted anywhere between 1200m and 3000m minimum order.

But dont let me discourage you! Maybe they like you better

wow thats pretty lame. wanna go half on and order with me? lol.

Yeah I tried to get in touch with them a while ago and when I told them I was not a company but an amateur skibuilder they didn't want to deal with me anymore...
Too bad as they seem to have some pretty nice products. Shipping to Canada/USA would kill us though.

I t looks like we are going to order a roll of the white PBT top sheet material from Isosport. We use it on our skis and yes you guys are correct, I am going to have to order 1200meters 20" wide to get it.
At that quantity I can sell it for about $10-12per yd landed here is the US after customs freight etc. (The freight is almost a 1/3 the cost!) Is there anyone interested in this material in small quantities? I can order more if there is enough interest.

BTW this forum Rocks!

check out BoardBuildingMaterials.eu I brought in a roll of topsheet/ clear with backing {Duraclear} fairly cheap. Shipping on 100 meters /32cm was with DSL. If I can recall it was about 120.00 US $. Great product/very light. Good Luck, Mark

Sorry, it is BoardBuildingSupply.eu Later

Thanks for the info Mark! I will give DHL a try.
We will use about 1000 meters of the 50cm wide white in a year. I will contact them as see what they have. I do want to try some of the duraclear though with a carbon ski we are doing. Does it form ok simular to PBT? We have several contours on our top.