I noticed one of my boards has a bunch of spider cracks near the tail on the deck, but I can't really feel most of them. I've never really had a problem with little cracks like that but I'm starting to wonder if they could be slowly letting in water. Should I try to fill these in, and what would be the best way to do so?
I dont think you have a problem its pretty common to have spider or hairline cracks on a board. If youre that woried about it dry off the board next time you go out and lean it up against a wall and check to see if any water is beading up near the cracks. I have also used a blowdryer. If you put a little heat on the areas water will seep through the cracks.
What I do is poke a bunch of holes in the area with a very thin nail and make tiny tunnels throughout the web and inject the resin with a cake icing decorator until it comes out all of the holes. Let it harden and sand. I've tried many different things and found this to be the best method.
Whaaaa?!?!?!?! If you can feel them, they might be letting in water. Chances are they're not, but it's worth a close look. Do you see any weave along the cracks where the glass has "shattered?" Also, flex the board and see if the stringer is compromised, and make sure you see no signs of buckling in the area. Spider cracks perpendicular to the stringer, on a board with just a sanded hotcoat, can mean more than just cosmetics. On boards with multiple hot/gloss coats, maybe not. Usually, spider cracks are not a major problem, but occasionally it can be a red flag for something more. If there's no other damage, and there probably isn't, after a session, dry off your board with your towel. A day or so later, after the board has heated up and cooled a few times, check it out. See if there's salt crystals along the cracks. If so, you might want to sand and re-hotcoat. If you don't, the area under the cracks will eventually turn brown. Sanding and re-hotcoating is not a major job, but bit of a pain in the neck if you're not set up and have everything on hand.
probably no big deal. id leave it alone unless its real real bad then go with the lbcrew suggestion.if yer not set up for that you could get redneck and use a can of spray clear coat by rustoleum if you dont use too much.it wont last forever but it seeps in the cracks and keeps water out. just dont seal water in and please dont poke holes in it with a nail
rule of thumb is (no pun intended ) if you rub your finger nail in them and you can feel them your okay . In most cases its just the gloss coat and no biggie
alright thanks guys. i'm probably just going to check for water and salt crystals after my next session. if its real bad i'll sand it down and try another coat. did you mean to say "if you can't feel them"? if so then i'm probably alright for now
