So here is a question that may sound a no brainer for some but for a newby not so much. So I have a broken in half shortboard and I would like to try to fix it. It is a PU board and I hear I should use the same material used to build the board to repair it, so Polyester resin in this case. Here is my question, is there any difference in strength if I use Epoxy instead? specially bonding the two pieces together? or the extra cost is not worth it for a repair of this kind?
Thanks in advance!
Rod.
I use epoxy because its what i have. Shouldn’t be a problem either way. I suggest you post pics, and search the archives - several past threads on this type of repair over the years. Its generally do-able, but you have to decide if its worth it.
You hit the nail on the head, the extra expense isn’t really worth it. Epoxy is a stronger resin, yes, but the difference isn’t relevant here.
Bonding the two pieces together isn’t the issue, it’s about the cloth wrap around the break and the prep you do. How you’re gluing foam to foam isn’t gonna affect the strength much. Aligning the two pieces correctly is the key. When the board broke, some of the foam was permanently crushed, you’ll need to fill in to make up for that.
Do see the archives for just how to do it. And lots of ways not to do it.
hope that’s of use
doc…
If you just stick it back together with resin and cloth, it will most likely break again. Rout or Circular Saw a slot "across the the break along side the stringer. Then insert a wooden strip with a slurry of resin and Qcell in the slot. I like to use one gal. and five gal. paint sticks. Cut the handle end off square. Fill any foam damage with resin Qcell like you would any other ding. Then laminate a couple of layers of four oz. Or a layer of six and four cloth and resin over the whole thing. I like to put the down the six first just barely covering the repair by two inch’s on each end. Then a larger piece of four over that wrapping the rails a bit. Then laminate the other side. Rout the slot just deep enough for the stick, not all the way through. The hardest part will be to line up the two halves so that the rocker isn’t distorted… I sometimes lay an old board on a six foot table with plastic taped to it. Then lay the broken board on top of that… Makes aligning the two halves easier. Lowel
oK, THANKS, i’ll post some pics. I think it is worth it, the board its not old. The privious owner just did’t want to take the time to do it. It is a very light glassing, so it broke on a big surf. I dont mind the extra weight on the board and i see it mainly as practice, so I think I want to do it either way, I just want to make sure I do my best to do a quality repair with the right materials, if after that it doesn’t work, well it is still a good learning experience that i didn’t have before 
Remove the wax from the deck around the break. Sand off the gloss coat and hot coat 4" around entire break with 60 grit. Glass with McDing’s glass schedule.
Great, tons of good info there. Has anyone tried glass robings instead of wood next to the stringer? The same slots are cut parallel to the stringer and then filled in with different size robings (same used to put glass on fins) and a filler mix of resin and Q-cell. I would love to hear if some one has done it with good results. thanks bor the help everyone!
