Repair Tips

[ric_vidal]

#1 now listen kids, polyester resin and expanded polystyrene (EPS or extruded polystyrene - XPS) don’t like each other. I have had 2 similar repairs in the last couple of weeks. The brown patch was a hole where someone tried to fix a fin chop... if it had kept going they could have had a hollow board

And NO I didn’t do it! Just have to fix the f-up.

meltdown.jpg (40.46 KiB) Viewed 6200 times

The dag hanging from it is now 2-part polyurethane foam that was poured in and expanded to fill the void, glassed over etc. Net result will be light and strong enough. Paint will be applied to make it look more betterer

[ric_vidal]

#2 When applying resin (and glass), UV or otherwise, and most people do quick fixes these days with UV, sand the area with bloody coarse paper or it doesn’t stick.

I have to laugh fixing other peoples’ rubbish.

[ric_vidal]

#3 You know how some boards collapse really badly under front or back foot pressure. Keep an eye on your tail rocker, especially the side under the ball of your foot. Seen a few that are twisting the boards quite markedly and they weren’t old boards. Let’s face it, compressing that foam has to do something. You also have to watch the top side of your FCS installation, assuming it is done correctly it stays in place due to the column of resin but have seen water making it way in as the glass cracks due to the compressing foam around the area.

The mid board ones? Well, I have my theories especially pertaining to severe damage (snaps).

Not volumes you can do, except hope you get a well made board from the outset that is not over cut... good luck knowing that one, and don’t be shy with your glassing schedule. I wish I could tell you the difference between light and heavy in real terms but haven’t been through that exercise. I have been asked to reinforce a few just with more glass, they certainly aren’t appreciably heavier.

The inclusion of carbon (or other) at the tail will help but some talk I have heard suggests it makes the board stiffer. Also, to get the max value out of carbon you need to use epoxy and this by-and-large won’t/doesn’t happen.

[Beerfan]

Great stuff ric, thanks for the tips mate. Im lucky that both boards i have haven't been overshaped and/or underglassed.

Question for ya, I do have a small longitudinal crack on my midlength, about a third down from the nose, and i guess halfway up the rail. The "suck" test proved that no water is getting in ( i think it was from my trip down the coast where i tied it down, even though it was in a bag! ), but know i should probably do something. A quick light sand, and a patch o glass, but should i wrap it all the way from bottom to the deck?? Sucks coz i know it'll be a lot of sanding.

[Cpt.Caveman]

Great tips Ric, cheers buddy

[ric_vidal]

Question for ya, I do have a small longitudinal crack on my midlength, about a third down from the nose, and i guess halfway up the rail. The "suck" test proved that no water is getting in...

Not that I do it myself, but if it is a crack, it is a crack, therefore it will ultimately take in water so fix it, even if it’s a quick and dirty with some UV.

Or whack some ding tape on it until next time you have some resin on the go.

[ric_vidal]

#4 Pack your pride and joy well when travelling.

Not going to name companies at this stage but seeing a little pattern occurring with totalled surfboards ~ snapped.

[eMpowered]

Ahh Dings.......

[ric_vidal]

#5 Not a tip, just a venting moment.

I don’t like Futures or those new Surfinz boxes. Great designs, but geez they are asking a lot. Bits of ‘stuff’, which resin/glass doesn’t really want to stick to, glued into soft foam and all kept in place by a pubic hair’s covering of glass. Turn, turn, crack, crack, stress fractures, delamination, why is it going yellow around them?

Why don’t I like them I hear you scumbags ask? ’cause they are f’king hard to fix and make a mess of a board when they come into grief and they do. Seem to be having a run of them. Also don’t think they help flex and they definitely don’t let the energy wash through a board in stress, but then neither do the others.

Thank you, have a nice day!

[maggot]

Thanks for the tip ric, looks like I need to track down some Epoxy resin for my SLX fix. I have fixed the nose with standard resin with fine results, a little rail ding sanded back, filled with a thick balloons+resin mix, sanded back and repatched with glass cloth and resin and finished.

[ric_vidal]

Thanks for the tip ric, looks like I need to track down some Epoxy resin for my SLX fix. I have fixed the nose with standard resin with fine results, a little rail ding sanded back, filled with a thick balloons+resin mix, sanded back and repatched with glass cloth and resin and finished.

Selleys have a product called ‘Knead-it’ which is a 2-part epoxy putty. Good for any epoxy repairs IN CONTACT with the foam. You CAN use polyester if NOT in contact, but even the slightest contact can get ugly.

The ‘Knead-it’ doesn’t look pretty but it is easy to work and strong. Just glass over and give it a puff of paint.

[ric_vidal]

#6 Glass on fins

The pros are idiots, don’t use ’em because they do. Combined intelligence wouldn’t add up to much Good enough for King Kelly to use FCS, good enough for everybody else. Besides who doesn’t like changing fins?

Why don’t I like them? They make a mess of a board when they come off, and rare to see one that hasn’t cracked the rovings.

Whilst the FCS type plugs out there aren’t bullet proof, although the current crop hardly ever snap anymore, they tend to make much less of a mess if they come into grief.

Next gripe of course is their ‘system’ is basically flawed.

[Quangers]

This is definitely the most interesting thread on here ATM. Keep up the good work Ric!

[ric_vidal]

On ya Q, field some questions if you wish, love to help where I can.

Stops me from shooting barbs at plenty I would like to.

#7 Exotherm

That would be the heat generated from a volume of resin, hard to know which is worse, epoxy or polyester. Either way if you are fixing a deep hole, dare I say gash , it may be worth doing in multiple fills. The resin gets hotter after gel state so can be very misleading.

Now this is complicated as all (polyester) resin is meant to have catalyst rate of between 1-2%, do that on some fills and it will just crack which is not necessarily a huge problem but it doesn’t look too flash. Q-cell or other bulking agent (chopped glass or rovings) is probably mandatory, but doesn’t necessarily alleviate the problem.

Certainly a case of less is more.

Still getting my head around how low I can go in volume, and not as game as my Brazilian friends who will laminate a board at extreme temperatures. Optimum working temp is low twenties, not often the case in a factory with a metal roof in the middle of summer although I am now talking about different things.

[ric_vidal]

#8 Rough it up, baby.

May have touched on this, but sh*t it is late for me and I have had one or two chateau de cardboards

If fixing ‘stuff’ yourself, make sure the area you want said stuff to stick to is well scuffed... I’m talking 40-80grit. God knows resin doesn’t really want to stick to smooth shiny stuff and I’m really getting a little tired of fixing OP’s attempts with UV resin. Yes even it needs to be well scuffed.

If you have a slightly deeper hole, scratch it with a Stanley blade or some such thing. Which leads me to...

[ric_vidal]

#9 Cut it out

You know how you can have impact with something and it leaves a ding? Sure you do. Well sometimes (more often than not) the glass has been de-laminated from the foam. This clearly isn’t doing any good or particularly strong, sooooo what are we going to do?

9 times out of 10, cut the loose stuff away, unless you think you can get it to re-bond with the foam with resin. Then re-fill with a mix of resin and q-cell or build up layers of UV and if the area is susceptible to stress (like me ) glass over it for strength. Nearly everything I do is glassed over

Yeah sand first, remember? 2 layers of 4oz then sand it flush and whack resin over it and sand again. Use filler resin for all processes so you can sand easily without clogging paper.

[ajohnsen]

Great stuff, Ric.

I've got a shatter - from my cheekbone - on the underside and it's yellowing. What's the best way to repair these?

Anyone, know of a decent repairer around the Maroubra area? I used to go see Luke at the Ding Doctor, but he's moved on from his old premises.

[ric_vidal]

I've got a shatter - from my cheekbone - on the underside and it's yellowing. What's the best way to repair these?

If the glass isn’t de-laminated from the foam and it doesn’t need filling, just give it a good sand and glass over it. Yellow to me denotes water has been getting in, if it’s wet let it dry.

If it is worse, cut away the bad stuff and fill with a mix of resin and q-cell, or get some UV that has glass in it. Over fill and sand back it and the surrounding area to glass over it if you feel it needs strength... most do especially if you have been cutting otherwise they will crack as the board flexes.

If you can’t get q-cell, just cut up some glass very finely. Don’t go for big volume fills due to the exotherm.

With any solar product you may need to do it in layer so the UV can penetrate. Therefore you may have to do some sanding in between. Read the instruction I guess.