Repair Delaminated deck

If its an old board, you should experiment
and try to repair it your self.

I fixed up a huge delam, bigger than the size of the traction pad. Since it was so big and the foam was damaged I cut away the bad glass. Then I laid some filler after I cleaned up the wound. Threw some wax paper on top weighed down w a bag of sand. Then 2 layers of 4oz cloth.

I don't know if your repair is big enough to require that type of job though. You might want to simple slit one end of the delam, and poke holes in the other side. Then you pour or inject resin into the slit, and the excess resin can squirt out the holes. I would do the wax paper and sand bag trick w this method also. Cross fingers for good contact and no bubbles

 

i have done the repair you describe with a syringe. you can get the syringes at most boat supply places like west marine. here's how it goes:

1. make sure the foam is completely dried out.
2. clean all wax and other crud from around the area you are working on.
3. drill several small holes throughout the delammed area.
4. Mix resin.
5. Suck resin into the syringe and squirt it throughout the delammed and drilled area until it is oozing out of all of your holes.
6. lay a piece of wax paper across the repair and place something heavy on top of it. I used a 40 lb bag of pellet stove pellets.
7. let the resin cure.
8. sand off the goobers and lay a fiberglass cloth patch across your repair.
9. sand and finish as desired. if it is on the deck and will be waxed over, finish work is less important.
10. go surfing.

there may be a better way to do this, but this method is cheap and fast. if the board is pretty old and beat up, you don't want to drop a lot of cash on it anyway. rock on.

 

I've done MANY, MANY delam repairs and you can certainly do it yourself... like this:

Carefully clean up the deck. Cut a round C-shaped flap with a utility knife and flap back the old delaminated glass. Clean out all loose foam and if it's wet, let it dry. Don't fold back the flap so far the flap crimps or cracks. Lift it just enough to get in there and clean out all the dust... and there will be a lot of it. Catalyze some resin, and pour the resin onto the foam, covering it completely. Slowly sort of roll the flap down from base to edge, so no bubbles of air get trapped under it. Weight down the flap with paint cans, gallons of water, etc, so it squeezes out all the excess resin, and sits TIGHT against the foam. Wipe up all the resin that squeezes out. When it kicks, clean up the "seam" around the flap with a block and 60 grit, scuffing up the glass on either side of the seam. Cut some strips of cloth to cover the seam... do two layers. Laminate them down, and when they're kicked, fair the edges, hotcoat, and sand.

 

or........find a ding guy that can vacuum bag the delam.

 

careful who you pay...

Definitely a DIY job. I paid over a hundred bucks to get a large bubble fixed on my retro and and got an AWFUL repair job from austin in va beach. Two sessions later there were soft spots all around the area. You could tell it was a minimal effort job. Thumbs down, Austin Surfboards.

im going to try it on my own this time. ..... If you want something done right, do it yourself.

 

Done a few of these myself, and agree it is definately a DIY project...because like you said, why spend $100 to fix one spot when it is almost a guarantee that if you have one delam, there are other soft spots following close behind. Getting a pro to fix it you will quickly spend more than the board is worth.

The technique LB CREW describes above is spot on. be generous with your resin...if (after you set the weight down) it isn't oozing out the entire seam you cut then you dont have enough resin under the glass. Obviously dont try it with sun cure.

 

I've done the injection technique described by Mikey with suprisingly positive results on a very large delamed area. It was an easy fix for what would have otherwise been a shot board.

However for an area as small as the one you describe, I'd be inclined to try LB Crew's method.

 

Obvious tip, use clear resin if the board is clear. I used what I had on hand knowing it would be "odd" looking, which was red resin, for a boat or something.

My board is now lightly tinted on that part of the deck, and looks like it has the chicken pox where the syringe holes were.

 

delam

Hey Leethestud,

It saddens me to hear that you were not happy with your delam repair. Please bring the board back in and I will take care of it for you. I am in the shop Fridays and Saturdays from 12-6pm or I can meet you there in the afternoons any other day. My cell is 270-8300 and you can just give me a ring for me to meet you there.

On the repair of a delam subject... Delams are tricky and I compare them to surfboard cancer. If you catch them quickly you can stop them most of the time. If a delam gets bigger than a softball it typically falls into where you can slow it down but you are not going to stop it. Once the delam is a certain size the foam in the board is compromised and means that it will keep crushing no matter what you put on top of it. Hopefully you caught it quickly and can stop it.

I would also like to let everyone know that Austin Surfboards repair work is guaranteed. If you have any problems/issues with the repairs please bring them back for us so we can have a look at them.

All the best,
Austin

 

Thanks, Austin. Not only will I take you up on that, you have re-gained my patronage.