Interesting Trends

[el gringo rattis]

i wash my board so the zips on my cover dont corrode. its lasted 3 1/2 years now..... so its all good.

but really..........who gives a shit

[reggie]

the shower thing, if the guy is pulling out soap and a spounge like i do good on him... it seems to really add some spark to my surfing...

but on a serious note who cares? rinse ur board, dont rinse it... big deal.. check out his gfs hot body instead...

and as for the roof racks thats just funny, the fins could also cause damage to the car... just take the piss out of them

[Beanpole]

[quote="Johnno"

How about just wiping it down with your beach towel .............. [/quote]

Nah, then my towel would be all sandy and salty and I couldn't use it
Gee this topic gets more and more complicated

[Dingus]

Showers are a good excuse to stand around for a couple minutes if there's hot chicks about, otherwise the board just drip dries on the balcony.

[ric_vidal]

...any application to buffed and cured fibreglass as opposed to something that has been designed to be as biodegradable as possible without it failing to perform the function for which it is designed? How come boards I still have that are 20 years old show no sign of such "corrosiveness" Or do I need a microscope?

Might just have to look into this, but I think you’re right Rin’R, UV is probably the biggest problem... having said that most boards don’t have finish coats anymore and if you look at a board that has the normal finish of just sanded filler you see thousands of ‘tiny bubbles’ (I can feel a song coming on), this is especially obvious where you have a darker coloured board like black and all the pin holes get filled with sanding dust. Now the point is, do the pin holes actually penetrate to the foam if so, we got a problem
One manufacturer I know who had experience making boards in the good ’ol USofA sometimes coats boards with floor wax and tells me it is quite common over there it adds protection and shine and fills some voids
I sometimes use a car polish on boards I’ve made as most polishes have UV inhibitors so start polishing boys & girls... rub harder Meat
Hey look at that, on topic stegosaurus :?

[still here]

Rock n Ron , are your 20 year old boards as "crisp" as they day they were born ?
I hope you have your condoms in glasses and placed around the house and can let everyone know your results in a week

Sure salt is a preservative .
Try packing salt around your dick ......and let us know how it goes .

Actually , I don't really care .

[scroopulis]

Ron , if you want to see what salt water can do to cell structures , put a condom in a glass of sea water for a couple weeks . (If you want to accelerate the process put the glass in a sunny spot like kitchen window sill or living room ). Make sure to have a second glass with pure water and a condom as well placed in a sunny spot to see the difference .

[/quote]



Thanks still here,I'll have to remember that next time i'm surfin' with a franger on.

[BA]

Rock n Ron , are your 20 year old boards as "crisp" as they day they were born ?
I hope you have your condoms in glasses and placed around the house and can let everyone know your results in a week

Sure salt is a preservative .
Try packing salt around your dick ......and let us know how it goes .

Actually , I don't really care .

Warning for you here kids. Don't do drugs. See what it can do to you. LSD seemed like fun at the time Still Here, didn't it.

[Meataxe]

Let's not think about this anymore.

[AC]

Boy - have I opened up a can of worms...

Regardless of the technical bits and pieces, if salt is so corresive, then the board will be effected more whilst in the water than after it has dried in the sun (or on the roof racks on the trip home). The more you surf, the more your board falls apart. Dings and depressions will see the end of a board way before the 'corresiveness of salt' renders the foam & fibreglass creation a mess of powder on the floor. After all, boards are made to get wet in salt water.

I'm with RR, I have boards that are over 25 years old and the most damage seems to be done around dings and depressions, and they're not as good now either, but they shouldn't be as board design has progressed a bit since the mid 70s.

As for travel covers, a wet board in a travel cover won't dry just a like a wet wetsuit left in the boot won't dry - it has to be dry when you put it away. And zips of covers rusting out - if it is a quality cover, go to a sailmaker and have them sew in a new fancy stainless steel zip, costs about $35 and will outlast the cover.

[Squidlips]

ONLY thing i can bring to this table.........

is that salt water can rot the glue which sticks your rubber tip on
(aaargh not more franga inuendo's!!)

or rot the glue for you tail pad......

[Nick Carroll]

Can't say Iv'e seen many boards on roof racks with the fins downwards.

I have seen a zillion of these lately. Almost all in expensive board bags. On the roofs of expensive 4wds, in which the board could travel no problem.

Always seemed to me that most long term surfers I know have managed to get themselves vehicles that permitted the insertion of the surfboard within the vehicle.

[Hawkeye]

Ah, look, for the average poly board that is going to get loved to death within a year it doesn't matter whether you wash it or not. I need to shower off afterwards for reasons explained. Doing the board at the same time has just become what I'd consider a good habit - and I keep my boards longer than most. And I get pissed with rust in my car, salt stains on its upholstery, and not being able to open my board bag!

Here's a thought: fibreglass boats that aren't washed out and wiped down after use tend to get dull and tired-looking and unreliable a lot faster than those whose owners invest a little TLC. Growing up waterskiing I guess looking after my gear has become ingained.

So, wash... don't wash... I don't care. Your choice. Your hip pocket.

[Hawkeye]

Regardless of the technical bits and pieces, if salt is so corresive, then the board will be effected more whilst in the water than after it has dried in the sun (or on the roof racks on the trip home).

Er, not quite.

* Salt concentration (and therefore power) increases as it dries out.
* It is hygroscopic (water attractant) and so never fully dries out, remaining chemically active.
* Any preservative action is largely confined to biological materials (eg, food, leather, mummification), where it functions by removing water from cells, killing bacteria and parasites, and thereby preventing decomposition.
* For inorganic materials such as metals and plastics it acts as a powerful oxidizing agent (if I remember my high school chemistry correctly).

Take your point about stowing objects wet - it's why I towel off my board after rinsing and hang the wetty up to dry.

Off topic: Has anybody ever put salt on a garden slug or snail? Gross!!

[ric_vidal]

Here's a thought: fibreglass boats that aren't washed out and wiped down after use tend to get dull and tired-looking and unreliable a lot faster than those whose owners invest a little TLC. Growing up waterskiing I guess looking after my gear has become ingained.

oxidation - n : the process of oxidizing; the addition of oxygen to a compound with a loss of electrons; always occurs accompanied by reduction

Funnily enough they make bulk salt storage tanks out of, you guessed it, fibreglass maybe they replace them every year

[still here]

Ric .. Of course they dont change the salt tanks every year - fool ! Some of RocknRons boards are 20 years old and I'm sure they're still usable - but no they won't be as "crisp" as if he rinsed them with pure water .

The fibreglass salt tanks will also certainly NOT be as "crisp" as when brand new . This may not bother you or me as much as a dull "uncrisp" surfboard , - or a salt eaten condom , but it nonetheless demonstrates the evil that is salt !

Salt aids the oxidation process of all polyolefins . Some of these processes take years , and in some cases milliards , but the original integrity IS being broken down and results in a less "crisp" product .

Whether you rinse or not is your own deal ,

Ps . Except for RocknRon that is ..... who'd be better off rinsing after his experiment !

[Grooter]

Always seemed to me that most long term surfers I know have managed to get themselves vehicles that permitted the insertion of the surfboard within the vehicle.

Yeah I've noticed the same thing. I've never owned a car I couldn't fit my board into.

But with petrol getting more expensive I'm the thinking of trading in the trusty old VP Commodore to something small with decent roof racks.

[ric_vidal]

or a salt eaten condom

Wouldn’t eat them with OR without salt - and who you callin’ a fool fool

Sure salt doesn’t help, just got to have a jibe at Prof. Hawkeye... just don’t think it is going to make a substantial difference if you wash, dry and iron your board... especially during a time of WATER RESTRICTIONS.

I get your point ‘still hear’, but listen what is this ‘crisp’ thing? I mean I know what ‘crisp’ means but it is becoming a focal point for you and you should get it off your chest.

There was a quote by a longtime US shaper/manufacturer on some other surf related site stating a board having a perfect flex ABOUT 2 WEEKS BEFORE IT SNAPS. This is not a crisp board ‘SH’ I await your rebuttal.