Another Ding Repair Question

General Discussion
1

Dropped my board on a rock hiding in some ice plant, which put a L-shaped crack in my rail near the nose about an inch long going from top to bottom and about a 1/4 inch going from nose to tail.

I was attempting to sand down far enough to eliminate the crack in the glass (which probably was not a good idea) and I think I sanded down too far, to about the foam. The crack was not soft at all (it was just a straight cut through the glass), but now I have sanded down far enough that there is a soft spot and there is a noticeable indention along the rail where one did not exist previously.

The board is EPS/Epoxy with a yellow resin tint on the rail. I’ve sanded down far enough that I can sort of make out the small beads in the foam, but it is still yellow. The soft spot at the moment is probably about the size of a dime.

Question is:

  1. Can I just do the normal procedure of apply one or two layers of glass, hot coat and then sand? Or, 

  2. Do I now have to try to cut this soft spot out into a larger area and then fill in with cabo/q-cel? Or,

  3. Should I try to sand down a larger area around this soft spot.

I can’t really tell at this point if the soft spot is soft because I sanded do too far or if this is some sort of a small delam caused by the drop on the rock. Would the glass delam from the foam from the impact? It did not seem soft before I started going crazy with the sand paper.

Also, if I have to go the filler route, and I want to try to color match the ding, can I get yellow pigment and mix with the filler and what type of filler should I get (q-cel,cabosil, etc.)? I know there is the clear filler and the white stuff. I have Resin Research expoxy and another brand from a basic ding repair kit to do the repair with.

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#1

3

It is soft because it became too hot and thin where you sanded it. You can mix a thick filler using cabosil and pigment it (color after mixing with hardener), sand, and then laminate over it using clear resin. Take the cloth border about an 1" beyond where you feel the good glass is. Be careful using epoxy thickened with cabosil, it gets very hot so don’t fill more than 3/16-1/4" deep at a time.

4
Quote:

The soft spot at the moment is probably about the size of a dime.

Go out back to the shipping department. See if they will loan you a roll of Clear 2" tape… Seal that dime size ding real good with the tape and then return the tape to the shipping dock.

Stop stressing…Go Surfing!

Ray

5

Thank you!

You are the first guy I have seen tell somebody to use clear packing tape(the 3M/Scotch is the best)

to cover dings.

I have been chewing my buddies out for years now for using duct tape. LOL

Hey! When are you gonna get these blanks outta my way? LOL

Did you spray the deck on MY shortboard yet?

Could I be any more demanding?

Could I ask any more questions?

HAHAHAOLE

6

Hi Todd ,

I sprayed the deck of “your” board… It’s less than perfect but I’m going to throw in a second short board blank to sweeten the deal…We just need to set a date for the exchange…

…Clear tape…I want the ding repair business but I’m not happy cleaning off nasty tape residue. Duct tape is not good for dings!!!

7

Ah yes… now, why you were using your board to flatten an ice plant is a whole 'nother story.

Okay, in the future, just sand lightly and use thinned resin brushed carefully into the crack to make the ‘look’ of the crack go away. Then glass over it to give you the requisite strength. .

But for this one, I don’t think I’d use filler. And put the knife away. Repeat, put the knife away. More people ruin perfectly good boards by ‘cutting out something’ than there are that do any good.

And there’s no reason to sand more. After all, sanding too much is what brought you to this pass, right? Why do more?

An excellent rule of thumb for ding repair is this: when in doubt, don’t do it. Simplify, always simplify.

You see these boards that have been ‘repaired’ by kinda heroic measures, cutting out a lot and grafting in great big chunks of new foam. And what you don’t see is the relatively simple repair it could have been, that would barely have shown and wouldn’t have been much work. And y’know, those heavily redone boards, they are usually something somebody is trying to unload for a whole lot less than they got charged for the very involved repair.

Anyhow, rant mode off…

Use multiple layers of glass instead of filler to build up thickness. Layer of glass, sand the edges lightly, another layer of glass a little wider than the last one all around, sand those edges, etc. until you get to where you need to be. Then hotcoat and wet sand. The thing is, you have a lot more control over thickness with cloth, it’s only as thick as the cloth is. It’s kinda hard to really botch it, you just get nice, clear layers that hardly show. And it’s a helluva sight stronger than filler into the bargain…

hope that’s of use

doc…

8
Quote:

Ah yes… now, why you were using your board to flatten an ice plant is a whole 'nother story.

Use multiple layers of glass instead of filler to build up thickness. Layer of glass, sand the edges lightly, another layer of glass a little wider than the last one all around, sand those edges, etc. until you get to where you need to be. Then hotcoat and wet sand. The thing is, you have a lot more control over thickness with cloth, it’s only as thick as the cloth is. It’s kinda hard to really botch it, you just get nice, clear layers that hardly show. And it’s a helluva sight stronger than filler into the bargain…

hope that’s of use

doc…

Stringray, no stress, just want to keep things clean.

Doc, lack of common sense is how these things usually occur and I knew better before I tried to flatten the ice plant.

Anyways, thanks for the advice. I am going with Doc’s method with multiple lays of glass. In the future, I will avoid trying to sand away the crack.

Thanks.

9
Quote:

Doc, lack of common sense is how these things usually occur and I knew better before I tried to flatten the ice plant.

Chuckling - y’see, there was the time i used my board to save my head from another board coming in on the next wave…and it worked perfectly. Un-fortunately, when my hand holding the rail protected the board ( badly - I got a ding anyways) from the other board…well, lets put it this way, when ya break your hand, it’s best to get the wetsuit sleeve off before it really starts to hurt, lest the ER slice up your wetsuit…

And then there’s the time that the nose of my nice new board got crushed in… by my right cheekbone. Not my best move ever.

Heh- how do you think I learned ding repair, y’know?

doc…

10

I’m no pro but don’t listen to the guy who said just tape it. Sure if it’s firing and that’s your only option use the tape. If it were me I’d just cut a piece of cloth and glass that thing. peace.

11

…and you are a kook. Don’t state the obvious.

12
Quote:

I’m no pro but don’t listen to the guy who said just tape it. Sure if it’s firing and that’s your only option use the tape. If it were me I’d just cut a piece of cloth and glass that thing. peace.

The proper repair method has been covered by PeteC and Doc. Why would Stingray tell people to put CLEAR tape on their dings???..I repair about 2 boards per month , all year long. I’m sick and tired of cleaning off DUCT tape and draining out water from dime sized dings. If you need to surf right now and can’t get your board over to me or Pete or Doc PLEASE plug that hole with clear tape or Solarrez. It’s for your own good. Wax works too but it might not make your ding repair guy happy…times are tough… girl friends don’t want you spending money on ding repairs. Ray

13

With the EPS/Epoxy, I opt for the Boardlady’s quick repair method, that epoxy putty. It’s quick and I think it’s a little more fool proof than the packing tape.

I should have used it in the first place in hindsight, but thought I would spend the time to do a better repair job.

14

Excuse the hijack.

Quote:

If you need to surf right now and can’t get your board over to me or Pete or Doc PLEASE plug that hole with clear tape or Solarrez. It’s for your own good. Wax works too but it might not make your ding repair guy happy… Ray

Where are you guys? Please pm.

I’ve got an eps board in need. Two cracks, one was covered with duct tape, removed after each outing :), the other temp plugged with wax…noticed when pulling out of bag for a surf. Don’t know how I got either one. Been open and drying for 6 weeks.

Also just about finished my first laughable shape and will be looking to have it glassed.

15

What doc said…

I pre-cut my cloth patches so you can wet out each layer, and top it with the next, one after the other, and do it in one session. Let the whole thing cure, then sand, hotcoat, fair.

16

What NJ_surfer said…and I should have, 'cos that’s exactly how it’s done, every layer a little bigger than the preceding layer, lay 'em on while it’s all wet, let 'em dry and sand as need be, etc.

A few other things:

Temporary ding repairs - what I like to deal with, best to worst:

Best is fairly thick clear shipping labels. They’re watertight, leave little or no smeg and they come in handy peel-off sheets, like these - surf shops and ding guys take note, print your blurb on 'em and sell 'em at cost. Advertising on the cheap.

Then, the blue masking tape - it comes off without too much misery or leftover adhesive. The off-white stuff has an adhesive that tends to harden. Shipping tape- well, the really thin stuff isn’t fun to take off unless you fold back the end to make a tab for removing it.

I really don’t mind duct tape. If it hasn’t been left on so long that the adhesive has become hard as a rock. Even then, acetone and a green scrub pad will take it off. It’s just extra work. But by that time, hey, you shoulda had it fixed long before. Or at least changed it.

Wax- don’t do it. It has to be removed, cut away, along with anything it’s contaminated. This involves dremel surgery. You can’t remove it with acetone or similar, 'cos that dissolves it, spreads into the ding, then has to be taken out along with anything it’s permeated. I tended to charge extra for that.

As for solargoop - it will have to be chunked out too, Lots of work, lots of aggravation. I suggest a 2 lb hammer and a cold chisel. I charged a lot extra for something solargooped.

doc…