Surf Bort Repair Thread

600 in most cases. Supposedly any smoother slows the board down do to surface adhesion. No source but it is the rule of thumb amongst my sailing friends too.

If you're going for a mirrored finish 1500 > rubbing compound > polishing compound. Be prepared to cry when you scratch or ding your board.

 

that'll make a pretty repair...but getting out all the air bubbles is more important. If your ding decides to burp even the smallest bubble in your repair and you sand into that bubble, it might seep water. I hate bubbles.

 

DP. I usually just use sand paper and go at it by hand. No real reason why, it's just what I do. But I did get a pretty cheap sander that works great. Can't remember the name but when I get home from work I'll get the info. It's cheap, small, works great. Also, get sand paper from your hardware store. Multiple diffrent grits. I find the sand paper that comes with the kits are not enough. Both in size and grit to get a good repair.

Lastly, something I forgot to mention before. A squeegee. You can get one cheap from a boat supply store. Or you can make one. I used to take those plasticy things you get on the mail sometimes. Like a grocery store card that people keep on there keys. Or gym membership things people keep on there keys. I'd cut those up and use them. Your going to have to sand regardless, but if you get a big blob of resin sanding out down can be annoying. Squeegee can help you get a smoother repair to make less work when it comes to sanding.

 

As for sanders... I have a Porter Cable variable speed sander/polisher ( http://www.homedepot.com/p/PRO-SERIES-10-Amp-7-in-Variable-Speed-Sander-Polisher-PS07401/203225956 ) but I only use it building boards, 'cause it's a beast. For repairs I do all the sanding by hand, or if it's a larger repair, I have a Dewalt ROS... good for taking down big globs and humps fast, but you can very, VERY easily oversand and take your repair clean off. Do good resin work, and you won't need a power tool for much sanding.

But mostly, I use a couple different sized blocks, three to be exact. A small one about the size of a deck of cards (mahogany, dense and hard), a longer, narrower one about 4x9 (poplar, so it's very light but hard and flat), and a larger piece of oak tread, heavy and hard, which has a foam side that I also use for shaping... the foam side is good for rails, and I'd say 80% of all dings are on the rails.

Try to make all your sanding blocks yourself if you can, so you can customize them to your hand size... start with a piece of hard, flat, straight grained wood that isn't cupped or twisted. Your largest block should be as big as will fit your hand comfortably to get the max surface area possible and still be able to handle the tool with ease. I glued a couple layers of life vest foam to one side with 5200, and beveled the edges of the foam so it's round when you wrap a sheet of sandpaper around it. Over time, the foam will flatten out a bit, and I'll just glue another layer on. But find a piece of foam that's firm, but has some give. I don't use that "egg crate" foam... good for finish shaping a blank, but too soft for sanding resin.

 

Another trick for rail repairs, which may sound odd has worked for me. if you look at a profile of the rail it rolls obviously. If the rail is crushed (and after cleaning it up, sanding and general prep), I put board deck down unless the ding is absolutely favoring the deck ( this still works and is a bit easier to do for deck favored rail dings). Prop up nose to get board level ( I used 4 flip flops, and really the leveling step will be completed once you fill ding...critical)

I tape the whole ding site from deck up and around rail so that top edge of tape is slightly higher than bottom of board, forming a cup( the key is when I fill it I want to Make sure it seals around the rail. I use a chopstick to shape cavity of tape to ensure the bottom of "cup" is open).

So, b/c you creating a huge cavity to fill, to ensure your covering ding "around" rail, it will square out your profile with a ton of extra glass (saves having to do two step repair for either side of rail).

Anyway, you mix your mix and pour in (use flip flops or anything to visually levelize your pour....look very close b/c the pour can be moving slow and hard to tell then you walk off and hour later the pour has shifted... Very important).

The trick: once it starts to set (at least 2-3 hours), pull tape and take a razor blade a cut away the excess glass from your "rail mold".

This process allows you to seal "around" curved rail in one step and saves you sanding a large square section of rail. the "tape cavity" is an art depending on severity of rail ding and whether it favors deck or bottom.

 

^^^ That little square of clear plastic that comes in the ding repair kit will do the same thing for you. Otherwise, tape molds work great.

Use a level to level at the repair site to level your boart... takes the guesswork out.

 

The plastic square doesn't seem to be big enough for most rail fixes. Do you use it to form a cavity or to "press" your coat?

Also, plus one on sand blocks (never thought about using poplar versus oak depending on sanding step). I usually use a small piece of 2x4 (pine).

+1 on level but for rail, sometimes you want to position angle to that pour levels but bottom of board not level

 

Some good advice here. But the best thing to remember is that there is no substitute for just getting in there and going for it. All of the thinking and prep work doesnt help a lick until you have a few jobbies under your belt. Then you will refine your process and know what tools and stuff are necessary for you to get a job done to your own satisfaction. Once you do a few you will be able to visualize how to do the best and most efficient repair for the given part of the board needing work.
Yesterday I had to reset an entire futures fin box. Went very well. Just made sure to clean up the damage very well. Had a lot of crushed foam in there so had to be sure it set back in nice and level. Filled the hole and eliminated any tiny air bubbles, taped the fin back in the proper cant and angle so it didnt move while curing and presto. I'll sand it today. Looks like the repair burped a tiny air bubble after I walked away, but can be filled with more poly or even superglue works well enough. I always use polyester resin and mix it myself. I find that the epoxy sun cure stuff always bubbles uncontrollably when the sun hits the repair. It drives me nuts. But remember never to use Poly resin on your epoxy repair or you will be sad!
Yesterday, I finished my second board from scratch. 100% on my own learned from reading and videos. I would always get so nervous about my next step in the glassing process until I just went for it and it would always be fine. Had a few mistakes, but thats how we get better.
I'm still interested in opening up my shaping bay to the public if anyone has interest in spending some time mowing foam and inhaling toxic chemicals with me.

 

If you measure epoxy by volume, more beer than herb, you may even want to wait till you're done to burn.

If you measure epoxy by weight, equal parts beer and herb. This is the recommended method

http://www.boardlady.com/ contains a wealth of knowledge. It's a little more in depth than you may need, but the step by step with photos is awesome.

 

also, not sure if anyone has said this yet, but when sealing holes with resin always do it on a falling thermometer! I can't over-stress how important this is

 

I actually have a great solution for dings... All the guys the are the regulars at Belmar would agree- if you sell all your surfborts on Craigslist - then use that money to purchase a WHOLE NEW quiver at Costco SurfShop

Problem solved. No more dings - only shredding waves in your future

#costcosurfshop

 

http://www.boardlady.com/

I agree- this is a great resource... Sometimes it kayaks and windsurf borts... But same concepts

She was the first to give me the idea of vacuum bagging to fix delam

 

yeah, totally forgot I also use a little 3" x 1.5" custom made block...perfect for rough sanding rail dings. It's so small, I have to staple the sandpaper on (to the sides, of course). Attached a triangular piece of wood perpendicular to the block, so I could grab it with my fingers with more control/precision. Couldn't imagine small ding rail repair without this mini block.

 

99% of the time I'm using uv catalyst in lam or sanding resin, so the clear plastic trick helps get a quick, even kick. I tape it at the bottom, roll it up around the rail (deck down, bottom up, like you said), and usually keep the top edge of the plastic even with the edge of the rail. Tape the sides, of course, to keep the resin in the ding, and pour in from the top. The plastic makes a mold much like the tape trick, forming the resin into a rail shape. It will always be a little flat, but I build it up with a couple layers of cloth, then HC over that.

 

chain saw.