Waiting for a train, My board in a sock slipped through my hands (doh!) and the tail (round tail) dropped about 2'' onto cement and made a small spider crack. I rub my fingers over the crack (about 0.5'' long) but I don't feel any cavities, feels smooth. I think its the fiberglass cracking in the inside and getting all structurally unsound. Any advice? I'm not sure if there's anything I can do to repair it.
Small crack repair Unfortunately, water can get into that tiny crack and cause discoloration. The best thing to do is sand it down to the level of the cloth and then regloss it with polyester resin. It's a pain in the butt, however it's necessary. I still have good boards from 20-plus years ago because I keep up with maintenance.
Yep... spider cracks are usually only in the hotcoat. If the glass is shattered, you'll see it. It'll look white. Sand it down and re-hotcoat, then re-sand.
Tails are usually double wrapped...and will not likely be too much of a problem. if you scratch it and can feel a crack (not smooth), sand it to the weave with some 100grit and hotcoat it (tape out an area about 2" around the the crack after sanding...then mix resin, use disposable chip brush paint on resin and walk away...remove tape, sand, surf). Otherwise, if it is a crack under the hotcoat in the short term it shouldn't be a problem. In the long term...think delam!
Thanks guys good advice, sounds really simple. I definitely need to learn this stuff, especially because I want to shape a board someday.
I saw this thread and I have the same issue with a new board. It has a few small cracks on the rail near the nose from falling over once. One crack is thin but seems to be a few inches long. They all feel smooth. I'm thinking it's in the hotcoat like you said but was wondering if a fix is necessary. I've only used the board a few times and definitely want to fix if it could leak. I don't really know much about repairs. Anyone have any advice? Thanks.
by a ding repair kit, and follow the instructions and seal it. It's really not hard. If it is cracked through, it will let water in, and over time yellow, maybe delam, get squishy etc etc... If your going to keep surfing, you'll need to know how to do this anyway. There's many ding repair videos on Youtube that will show you how to do it as well if your a visual learner.
