FCS plug repair, advice needed / apprecieted

General Discussion
1

My friend brought this board to me where one of the fcs rear sidebite fin plugs had been pushed in, then pulled out. Upon inspecting further I found that the original installer (won’t mention the board brand :slight_smile: ) Had drilled the holes for the plugs oblong, so there is a solid 1/4" bead of resin around these plugs. SO this plug that I’m trying to put back in is got a healthy halo of resin around it, and it sits low in the hole from being pushed in. Also, the glass on the bottom around the plug is soft, so it will have to be cut away.

So here is what I had in mind as far as making a solid water tight repair, and reusing the fcs plug.

1.) Mix 3 small cups of resin, one has milled fibers, one has cabosil and finally one that is just regular resin with some surfacing agent.

2.) Cut a square of fiberglass to fit in the hole around the plug and lap over onto the bottom of the board. and Cut a few more smaller strips to lay over and around the fcs plug on the bottom off the board.

3.)So I’m thinking using the cabosil mix for the foundation of the bottom of the pushed in hole, then pour some milled fiberglass resin in, adding the square, push the plug in tight, check the depth of where it sits and make any minor adjustments. Then fill in more around the plug with the milled fiberglass mix. Do any surface lows on bottom around plug with cabosil mix. Brush down excess glass from the square. Lay down smaller strips to secure everything and brush on the regular resin mixture. Then come back after its cured and sand off excess. At the very most, hit anything missed, but should be able to get it all in one shot.

This board is not a real beauty or anything, just trying to get it water tight with as little investment for him as possible so he can get back in the water. Its a beginner board.

Input, feedback appreciated, I’ve never messed with FCS system at all. Thanks!

Tyson

2

A picture would help, but here’s what I think I’d do. Take a 1 1/8" hole saw, cut a hole in a piece of thin plywood. Pull the centering bit out, place the “hole” over the spot where the old plug was. Cut the hole in using the plywood “hole” as a guide to the depth of the plug. Put the plug in the fin and place the fin in the existing plug on the board. This should help you line up where the ripped out plug should go. Once you’ve got it where you want it, Secure the fin in place (you should be able to just tighten the grub to hold it in place). Tape off around the repair area and fill the hole with a cabosil/milled fiber mix that’s fairly runny. Let it kick, then sand the whole mess flat. Tape off the top of the plugs and put a filler coat on it and sand it all smooth after it sets. That’s it! You’re done! Good luck, hope that helps.

3

There’s probably a hundred ways you could do this, but your method (or the overbore suggested) will work fine. You’re just after a cheap, quick fix as you say. Two things that might give you trouble: 1) working with a plug that’s already been sanded flush once, and 2) making sure the glass that’s loose around the plug gets cut away and replaced or somehow re-bonded to the foam.

And there should be an H-pattern column of resin under the plug to the deck, if that’s not there or you don’t re-bond to it the repair may not last.

4

Aloha originalsin, You can fill the hole with Q-sel and replug it if you have the installation tools. It may be a little hard due to the hardness of the Q-sel but it will work. Aloha,Kokua

5

There’s a couple of methods I use, and I’ll give you the quick and easy version. Grind out any loose filler in the hole and any loose glass on top using a dremel with a coarse grit barrel. Prep sand the top area. Get the correct fin for that side and install the new plug on the tab. Loosen the screw all the way on the plug still in the board. Test fit the fin with the new plug attached in the board. Put 2 pieces of tape across the hole where the two little depth limiters on the plug sit (stretch the tape tight, but leave enough room for pouring the filler. Prop the board so that the hole is level in your stands. Leave the new plug attached to the fin, and wipe it with either styrene or acetone depending the plug vintage. You’re going to fill in two steps; the first to anchor and align the plug, the second to do a cosmetic fill. 1st filler: Cut up some scrap cloth in in small pieces, soak in lam resin until saturated (make it very runny), catalyze at 1%, pour in hole (between the tape), and fill until it’s 1/2 to 3/4 up the plug. Tighten the screw on the other plug to hold everything down. This fill will anchor the new plug and it will be aligned since it’s attached to the fin using the intact plug. Watch the heating with this fill and use ice bags if needed. 2nd filler: Remove the fin and tape, leave the screw hanging out. Mix a runny batch of sand resin/Q-cell (not cabosil) and pigment it to match. Pour this all around the plug until level with the glassing. When hard, drive the screw all the way in the new plug and sand the whole mess level. You may need another iteration of filling/sanding. Mask the slot and screw using a “T” shape of 1/4" tape. Lam a piece of 4 oz. cloth over the new plug and filled areas. Hotcoat, sand, etc. This whole procedure is easier to do than describe, and takes about an hour to get both fills done. If you solidily anchor the bottom of the plug and then glass over it, you don’t need to use the official FCS method. I’ve never had any of my repairs or new FCS installs done this way come back.

Too much work? Go get some of that epoxy putty for plumbing, drill a hole in the fin tab and put a piece of a nail through it, stuff the putty in the hole, push the fin in the putty, tighten the other screw. This is the difference between “repair” and “water-tight”.

6

My thinking exactly…don’t reinvent the wheel. Let the damaged area dry, what doesn’t dry, remove. Then fill the area with Q cell and milled fibers…you don’t need cabosil…you don’t need 3 different mixes. Keep it simple.

Just fill with slightly catalyzed Q cell mixed with milled fibers. Let it harden to say, hard cheddar cheese then bore out for the insert to go into the yet rock hard mix. Or better yet, just prep the plug by wiping w/dirty acetone or MEKP or sanding then put fin into new plug and existing plug for alingment. Do 2 fills (1 to set and 1 to level which also avoides to much exothermic buildup.

Then sand flush.

If ya wanna get fancy, sand flush and cap with 4 oz. . you can cap directly over it with no tape if you are careful using UV polyester, then hotcaot and sand out. Shoot another seal coat if glass fiber is exposed. Then take a razor blade or dremel and clear the channel slots and screw hole.

If you’re scared about clothing over an open cavity use some scotch tape and cover enough for the slots and drill hole or fill with wax/wood/whatever that you can remove easily. But why bother when you can go directly over it w/o the fuss?

Fusions rule… plugs suck. Yes, technically superior in theory vs. application.

7

Ahmmmm- quite often, the plugs are ‘drilled’ out with a router jig, which in a production situation might develop a little slop. Sooooo, the oversize hole is mebbe excusable.

Awright, I’ve done a lot of plug repairs over the years and I have done 'em like you describe, in varying degrees. And it’s worked. But…it’s a lot of work and I dunno if it’s necessary. So, lets try something new, shall we?

[img_assist|nid=1030258|title=new fcs method|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=427|height=374]Now, what you do is pull out the old plug, as described. Don’t try to reuse it, the things are a couple of bucks, reusing 'em ain’t worth the effort of cleaning it up. .

Okay, clean out anything blatantly loose in the crater, the next step is gonna go quick.

Get your new plug and put it on the fin tight to the fin base…and ya gotta use a fin to get the thing aligned right with the other plug. Sand the outside of the plug, just a little, with coarse paper.

Spray a little fresh water into the crater, dump in a wad of clear Gorilla Glue and have at it. Stick your fin in, but leave a little gap between the fin base and the bottom off the board, as shown above, so the new plug will stick up just a little above the line of the bottom.

The gorilla glue should foam up nicely, making a lot of fairly hard foam around the new plug. Make sure that as it expands, it doesn’t push plug, fin and all too far up. Your new plug is supported by a lot of foam that’s denser than the existing foam. Lots better than a thin skin of cabosil/resin mix, more than strong enough, providing you don’t hit anything big.

If you do hit anything big, well, hey, you’d be screwed anyhow. And the fin would leave accompanied by the box and about a four inch circle of bottom. Not good. The original idea behind FCS was that the plastic molded cheap fins would break away if you hit something, rather than trashing the board… and they still will, if yoyu take a wee cut at the base of the fins to encourage it. If you’re using kevlar or, god help us, carbon fiber FCS fins, you’re missing the point.

Okay, you got a blob of foam sticking out of the bottom with a plug in there. Sand it all flush with the bottom of the board, use a coarse disc. Mask the plug carefully, glass a nice patch of cloth over it , cut cloth as need be, sand as need beand you’re done. Easy, quick, and as strong as it needs to be.

hope that’s of use

doc…

8

First off, THANK YOU EVERYONE for the detailed and thoughtful responses.

I got a game plan going on after reading everyones insight. Will take care of this tomorrow. I may take some photos now, just incase some one

happens in the same boat as me. I’ve never installed FCS system, so I don’t have the equipment. I do have the original plug which I’ll be reusing,

and a botched fin that will serve the purpose of keeping things aligned.

With the incredibly detailed responses, I can definitely see how to accomplish what I need to, and even take it many steps further to a flawless professional fix.

Maybe I should go the extra steps further, but I’m backed up on 2 boards, and this guy just wants the plug in water tight on this really crappy beginner board to resell.

However, I’ll do what I can to make the integrity of the fix last for the next person.

The holes are oblong, or oval’ed, I can tell by a mistake in measuring the desired fin placement. I guess I will take pics, because I couldn’t stomach selling a board with such

a crappy install. I believe the amount of excess resin in these over sized holes are a contributing factor, if not the main reason, the plug failed in the first place.

Thanks again, will update with photos soon to help out the fellow S’locks!

Tyson

9

If you have the tools, it may be easier to install a different box that is FCS compatible. There’s a few of them around.