Delam repair question

General Discussion
1

Hey guys, So my 9'8 longboard had two delams on the deck about 18'' long on each side of the stringer. The foam was wet and water was bubbling out of small crack on each side. The board is maybe 10 years old, still in great shape, has tons of life left in it.

I cut the delamed areas open by cutting away two large 18'' rectangles. The foam is now exposed and drying.

My question is, can I re-use the pieces I cut away? I realize I could lay them back down and glass over them but this wouldn't solve the bubbling since the glass isn't stuck to the foam. I need to somehow get the pieces to adhere to the foam before re-glassing. Maybe some q-cell and resin & lay the glass on top and let dry, then cloth and glass over it?

My other option would be just glassing over the exposed foam. However I feel like I would need to build up the exposed area first so the glass will lay evenly on the deck. If I were to lay cloth down on the exposed foam, it would lay on the original glass and then drop down a bit into the exposed area. I don't know how that would work.

The reason I want to resuse the pieces I cut away is mainly asthetic reasons. The glass is slightly yellowed from age and I'm just trying to keep it looking as clean as possible.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

 

 

 

2

Hi miket3815,

If you want it to be aesthetically pleasing then you have the right idea. I don’t really suggest repairing a board this way if you do plan to ride it but this is one way of doing it. You’ll want to let the foam dry, remove any foam that is rotten. If you can, cut the glass on three sides so you can lift the flap up and pour your thiksil/resin mix to fill in any imperfections. If you can’t then you’ll have to use a syringe which can get tricky with a paste like that. The reason I say use Thiksil is because it is clear and we are going for aesthetics only. Spread your paste, lay the flap back down so it’s flush, might have to tape or weigtht it. Let it harden, sand and prep the area for a layer of cloth, and the rest is a standard ding repair. This is just one quick explanation of one way to do it. I’m sure other people do it other ways and no one way is right or better…unless you don’t do it my way!!! Haha, good luck!

3

Thanks for the advice. I'll try using resin/thiksil mix underneath the cut away glass and try to glue it down. Once thats drys I'll glass over it. It's on the deck so once I wax over it, it won't even be visible.