Surf Tips – Fixing Minor Dings

There are two basic types of minor dings, punctures and fractures. These dings may occur on you board’s nose, tail, rail, or flat surfaces. Small punctures can easily be repaired with SUN CURE fiberfill resin or DING ALL QUIK STIK epoxy putty or with regular polyester resin by following these easy steps:

Materials: Resin and hardener, fiberglass, masking tape, sandpaper, cover sheet, mixing cups, mixing sticks, and plastic gloves.
Tools: Scissors, sander

1. Dry and clean fracture, light sand the area about 1/4″ around the fracture. Cut or grind away any broken fibers to create a void to be filled. For larger fractures requiring cloth laminations, size and cut cloth before mixing resin.

2. For taping flat surface and rail dings, tape around the sanded area to prevent resin form spreading. Nose and tail dings require taping under one side to mate the shape of the missing piece – multiple pieces of tape might be needed. Although the resin mixture will be thick, the tape will hold the resin in place around the broken or fractured part and will act as a mold eliminating extensive sanding and shaping.

3. For mixing, first estimate the amount of resin needed to fill the ding. Use scissors and chop thin pieces of cloth, (about 1/8″ pieces) and add to the resin. The cloth will make the resin very workable and will provide needed strength. Using an adequate mixing cup, estimate resin and add hardener. Once mixed, slowly stir the chopped cloth into the resin (don’t add too much).

4. To apply resin on flat surfaces and rail dings, use a mixing stick and work out any air bubbles. A plastic or wax paper cover sheet is applied over the surface of the repair to mold a smooth surface. On rail dings, tape down each end of the cover sheet to hold it in place. DO NOT REMOVE the cover sheet until the resin has completely hardened. Check the hardening progress by looking at the left over resin in your mixing cup.Once dry, slowly peel off the cover sheet. If sanding is needed, start by using a medium grit sandpaper. Keep the sanding surface flat and avoid excessive, uneven sanding. Following initial sanding, use fine (wet/dry) sandpaper. To match a gloss finish, polish the repair after wet sanding.

For most repairs, the use of a COVER SHEET can minimize the amount of sanding required. A COVER SHEET is usually made of clear plastic or wax paper and is place over the repair during the drying process to form a smooth, glossy finish. A COVER SHEET is used for flat repairs and can be taped to cover rail dings. Once the repair is completely dry, slowly remove the cover sheet and sand the surface if needed.

Almost all surfboard repairs require sanding using using several different grits of sandpaper, a sanding block, and/or an electric sander. The three basic grits include: medium (100 to 120), fine (180-220), and wet sand (320-400). Use in order from the lowest grit up. The best method of sanding is an electric sanding wheel or orbital sander. If one is not available, cut a 1″x 2″ board 4″ long and make a sanding block.