I got a custom longboard last spring, appeared flawless. I waited 6 weeks before waxing/riding it. The board has always been stored inside, never been in hot midday sun, never dinged. I removed the wax last Fall and discovered a myriad of small cracks in the glass in a random pattern about the tail. There are no pressure dings of any sort where the cracks are, the cracks can’t be felt by a fingernail (yet), and have the appearance of the cracks you might see as part of a heel ding, or the “crazing” you can get in some older custom car candy paint jobs. The board’s deck color is sprayed on the foam, no resin tint. So my question: can anyone suggest what might have caused this and what is the simplist fix. I’m afraid that it’s only a matter of time before water leaches in. Thanks for any help.
Your board is not defective that is unless thw whole industry is defective. Check out just about any used board and you will find heel dents at the very least. It’s a sign of the times. Surfboard consumers, led by the industry marketing experts, believe that light weight = high performance. The part that was left out was that lighter foams + lighter glass jobs = disposable product. This has been a “win win” situation… surfers get their light weight high performance surfboards and the surfboard makers sell more product. Deck pads, extra deck glass layers and/or epoxy construction (domestic and imports) minimize or eliminate deck crushing.
These are not heel dents. They are present where my feet don’t go on the tail and there are no depressions in the glass. Perfectly smooth, flat, and looking shattered. Multiple areas. One glasser I talked to thought it might have occurred if the glasser involved dropped sweat on the glass when the resin was appled. Any thoughts?
Was your board stored standing upright on its tail? If so you have most likeley enocountered stress cracks.
Possibly leash attachment? If you have a leash, try pulling it around the rails in the tail and see if any knots or attachment point could be causing.
Did you ever FALL OFF?? Maybe get drilled by a wave?? If they appear to be stress cracks, that is usually from the board impacting something. Maybe the bottom. Without seeing them, but based off of your description, I’d suspect that the board had impacted something. http://www.hdxsurfboards.com
Board is stored on racks, no leash injury. I did eat it on one double overhead Isabell wave when some idiot dropped in on me, stress injury might have happened then, but the areas involved are in a patchy, non-linear pattern around the lower fourth of the board. Also, the cracks are from the inside out. You can’t feel them at all. I guess it will need to be ground down to the glass and recoated. I’ve never seen a board do this.
im fairly sure by your description that the cracks you speak of are excess resin when the laps were painted after the bottom layer was glassed. generally they show up in your case due to the darker foam color. the resin has been applied a little liberally onto the foam away from the bottom layer of glass this resin cracks as the board flexes in normal use. it is more prevalant in winter glassing as the resin is thicker. it can be avoided in the glassing process by using as little filler as possible when painting the lap prior to sanding. it isnt any major weak spot or serious problem. just an asetic dilema for you the board owner. they are often refered to as spider cracks. http://www.feraldave.com 
Dave, that sounds like a possible. Is there a risk of water leaching in through the cracks? The appearance is not a problem for me.
no ron if you canf feekl any thins with your fingernail they are form the foam u p thru the resin, they stop where the deck glass starts http://www.feraldave.com 
Thanks for your input. I love the graphics you offer on your website.
no problem at all, i just hope to show all that its easy to do what you desire, you just gotta keep trying http://www.feraldave.com 
no problem at all, i just hope to show all that its easy to do what you desire, you just gotta keep trying http://www.feraldave.com 
Hey, The cracks may be caused from you dragging your toes when you stand up… that usually causes lines though. Sounds minor to me… shoulda left your wax on your board, hehe. -Carl