Nose & Finbox Repair Help

Discussion in 'Surfboards and Surfboard Design' started by Caroline Campbell, Oct 7, 2014.

  1. Caroline Campbell

    Caroline Campbell Well-Known Member

    191
    Sep 19, 2014
    Hey Everyone!

    Over the weekend I picked up a used Channel Islands Weirdo Ripper, other than normal wear & dents the board was in decent shape.

    Only two things I'd like to repair on it before getting it out in the water are - the nose which looks fine just kind of a hack repairing job thats coming un-done & one of the fin boxes I'm attaching photos for that one

    Screen Shot 2014-10-07 at 3.59.49 PM.jpg
    This is the best angle to see where it's lifted up. I was told to use masking tape & cut that area, then refill it

    Screen Shot 2014-10-07 at 3.59.36 PM.jpg
    Screen Shot 2014-10-07 at 3.58.02 PM.jpg
    Screen Shot 2014-10-07 at 4.00.11 PM.jpg
    Screen Shot 2014-10-07 at 3.57.51 PM.jpg

    Any help / tips would be very appreciated! Thanks! :)
     
  2. yankee

    yankee Well-Known Member

    Sep 26, 2008
    You call that smashed nose & tore up fin box "in decent shape...?"

    For that, CC baby doll, you get nominated for TOOTY14 award: The Optimist Of The Year
     

  3. Slashdog

    Slashdog Well-Known Member

    May 22, 2012
    Watch this great video, they do a repair just like your finbox (and a bad rail crunch too). Make sure whether your board is classic PU resin on PE foam or Epoxy resin on EPS foam, and use the same material! Otherwise you could f*ck your board up for good. You can use Epoxy resin on anything, but it's harder to sand than PU, and most of the time spent doing ding repair is time spent sanding.

    [video=youtube;1lkge7reEaw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lkge7reEaw[/video]

    That nose is hideous, that's why Solarez sucks. F*ck Solarez. You gotta get rid of all that sh*t.

    You can pretty much follow the video instructions for the nose, but it will be tougher. After removing the Solacrap by sanding/cutting, remove any squishy glass & brown foam. Then to the tough part ....

    You will probably have to do multiple steps with the Q-cell filler to reshape what you cut away. Make a tape dam so that the filler paste will stay in the area that it needs to. Or you can tape a plastic cover sheet to the board and wrap it around the rail, using it to hold the general shape. If you have to, repeat the filler process until you have the right shape. Sand your filler to the boards original shape. Then just follow the video!

    It will be harder to wrap the glass cloth around the nose- whichever area needs the most cloth (deck, bottom, or rail) should be facing up when glassed, so that it adheres with gravity. The cloth might have to be wrapped around the bottom, or possibly cut at the tip, so that it can wrap around the diamond point of the nose without bunching up (think origami here).

    Here are some tips:
    -when you prepare the ding, sand enough to expose the previous layer of cloth, so that you bond cloth on cloth.
    -when filling with Q-cell, overfill, and remove excess before true hardening (gel or semi-hard stage). Nothing sucks like filling multiple times.
    -use a plastic cover sheet to smooth out your repairs and save on sanding time.
    -use a little less catalyst than called for- it will give you more time before the resin begins hardening. You will probably need that time to get this right. Especially on that nose.

    You can read a lot of excellent info on Swaylocks or in Docs Ding Repair files if you can find 'em, but this video contains pretty much everything you need.

    Keep us updated, and once it's finished, post a vid of you surfing it! We wanna see some Caroline Cutbacks!
     
  4. metard

    metard Well-Known Member

    Mar 11, 2014
    pay someone to do it

    btw, you are jenna marbles?
     
  5. rcarter

    rcarter Well-Known Member

    Jul 26, 2009
    What no request for pics? You slipping Bro?
     
  6. Caroline Campbell

    Caroline Campbell Well-Known Member

    191
    Sep 19, 2014

    Hey Slashdog!

    Thanks so much for your reply & faith (ha!) - super helpful! I'd much rather learn how to repair my boards then pay someone to do it, especially on these more junky used board that I pick up.

    Anyways just a quick question for you if you can help out. I called CI and looked up the serial # to find my board is a PU but now I'm confused as to which kind of Resin to get because in the video the Epoxy is mixed.

    Second question is, for the fin box will I need to use the q-cel? Is that okay to put over the fin box?

    Thanks so much! :)
     
  7. metard

    metard Well-Known Member

    Mar 11, 2014

    no, being respectful

    but, tbh ..... that hack/fix job gave her board stage 11 ebola tho
     
  8. rcarter

    rcarter Well-Known Member

    Jul 26, 2009
    Nice Stage 11 Ebola!
     
  9. ClemsonSurf

    ClemsonSurf Well-Known Member

    Dec 10, 2007
  10. Slashdog

    Slashdog Well-Known Member

    May 22, 2012
    No problem Caroline. Learning board repair makes your boards more special... but then again, your friends want you to repair their boards too.

    I figured that thing was PU. What you want to buy is Polyester (PE) 'Sanding' resin. Make sure it's Sanding resin as laminating resin will always remain tacky and will need to be covered by sanding resin anyway. There are ding repair kits that have most of what you'll need, any legit shop should have em, and if not you can get stuff from Greenlight surf supply in Jerz. If you're unsure of what to buy, you can contact them before ordering, and they'll be super helpful.

    This is a kit carried by many shops:

    [​IMG]


    There are two types of hardening resin; one has an additive and it hardens in UV light, and the other hardens when you mix a few drops of catalyst with it (like the epoxy in the video, but different chemicals). The UV one is good because you can take your time working on it, then stick it in the sun and it hardens quickly. But this may not be convenient if you are doing all the work outside... The catalyst-hardening one, you mix a few drops of 'catalyst' into the resin or Q-cell/resin mixture, and it begins to harden after a few minutes, depending on how much you mix in.

    The fin box, yes, you will probably need to use Q-cell. Don't forget, all that f*cked up looking cloth/glass needs to be cut away and sanded... anything that's loose or disconnected from foam. When you remove it it will take some foam with it, so you'll use the Q-cell to refill that. It's fine to put over the fin box, just tape the fin-slot so it doesn't get in there .... just like in the video.

    One thing that I found annoying when I started doing board repair is that I was always hunched over, sanding away, and it was terrible for my back. So I built some shaping stands. Do that if all goes well and you want to continue fixing boards... but for now, if you can, find somewhere to work that is at an appropriate height, or maybe sit down and do it at a picnic table.

    Don't forget, the best part about fixing dings is drinking during the hardening stages.
     
  11. Mr.Belmar

    Mr.Belmar Well-Known Member

    Aug 19, 2010
    Just to add- buy the regular resin with the catalyst - not the uv cure stuff. It's the one with the blue and white label (not red/ white or yellow/white) you'll just get better results and it's the correct way of doing things. The uv stuff is best to be saved for when your on a surf trip and need to make a quick repair- will probably start to pull away and crack off at some point.

    Just take your time and pay attention to detail. Sanding is probably the most important part to make it come out nice...
     
  12. Slashdog

    Slashdog Well-Known Member

    May 22, 2012
    Right? Speaking of white, I just added brand new plush virgin towels to my stand. It's softer and purdier than ever.

    As far as lighting goes... I work outside. Every time I worked into the night I made a less-than perfect repair. So now, once the sun starts dipping, I just start cleaning up.

    Oh, one thing I forgot to mention Caroline. After the Q-cell is sanded down, use a chip-brush when you put resin onto your fiberglass cloth, instead of a squeegee or straight edge. Poke the resin into the cloth with the edge of the brush. It's a more guaranteed way of getting it right, the squeegee/edge will f*ck things up if you didn't do a perfect sanding job.
     
  13. metard

    metard Well-Known Member

    Mar 11, 2014

    well stated and valid points.

    good luck to jenna marbles on her repair job
     
  14. Ripcurrent

    Ripcurrent Well-Known Member

    137
    Sep 24, 2013
    That thing is really messed up, surprised the sites male contingent isn't all over this. Probably cause it's the 1000th board repair thread. Good luck!
     
  15. Caroline Campbell

    Caroline Campbell Well-Known Member

    191
    Sep 19, 2014
    ** update **

    Hey Everyone!

    Thanks again so much for all your replies & information! I just finished up my repairs, took me from 1pm to 10pm yesterday and then just a quick sand of the hot coat this morning. I learned so much from this repair seeing as this is my first real non-suncure fix. I do have to put another coat over that small part where the stringer is showing but the re-shape & q-cell fill is done.

    Orignal images can be seen in the first post

    Finbox repair:
    s1.jpg
    s2.jpg

    Nose repair (q-cel fill & shaped twice)
    s3.jpg
    s4.jpg

    Again this is my first repair so I'm sure its far from perfect but looks a lot better than all that junk that was poorly piled on before. Let me know what you think! :)
     
  16. rcarter

    rcarter Well-Known Member

    Jul 26, 2009
    Looks pretty good especially for a first time repair job. Let us know how it surfs.
     
  17. Vince Fontane

    Vince Fontane Well-Known Member

    48
    Sep 27, 2013
    Slashdog has given you some good info. Props for wanting to do your own repairs. Its alot easier then most people think. But do not rush the process. Dont be shy about the repair but dont rush it either.
     
  18. seldom seen

    seldom seen Well-Known Member

    Aug 21, 2012
    [video=youtube;NsLyI1_R01M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsLyI1_R01M[/video]
     
  19. Caroline Campbell

    Caroline Campbell Well-Known Member

    191
    Sep 19, 2014
    I'm actually surprised that this is the first time this has been posted in all the threads I've posted on, haha! Wish I could change my username to SweetCaroline now

    Sometimes I will take credit and say this is "my" song but honestly I was named after Caroline, no by the Beach Boys :cool:
     
  20. seldom seen

    seldom seen Well-Known Member

    Aug 21, 2012
    Caroline I was thinking the same thing, surprised no one beat me to it.


    Your username will always be SweetCaroline in my book.