G.S.I Phase 3 epoxy topcoat issues

General Discussion
1

Got a half snapped / buckled deck G.S.I Walden longboard to repair. Gloss/topcoat material is called PVT topcoat ( I think ). Anyone had experience with this product ? Can’t seem to sand it without it turning to mush. How can it be sanded ? Will I be able to blend a gloss coat over the repair and into the existing topcoat.

Any advice or tips would be gold.

Cheers

Mooneemick

2

If it’s a spray on finish, you’ve got it easy, just doesn’t seem that way right now! Just sand it out with lots of heavy grit paper (50 or 60 grit) as the paper loads up with the goo, change it out. Get enough of it off to do the repair. After repairing and finish sanding everything out, wet sand over the untouched gloss a little ways, then spray a similar topcoat over the fix and over the old finish. Now wetsand and polish.

3

Hey surfthis

Thanks for the reply. These things are a real shit to work on, been trying the heavy paper but no success this plastic clear coat won’t sand , you just can’t make a transition because the edge just melts. I ended up setting the edge trimmer to a poofteenth of a millimeter deep and taking it off that way.

These things have a strange woven ‘timber’ skin that has been split and partially delamed and I even found a Staple !! on the rail holding top and bottom skins together. Going to bag a new skin over the repair area then hopefully be able to finish it off as suggested.

Cheers

Mooneemick

4

Hi guys, my name is Daniel Flynn and I look after ‘International Development’ for GSI (Global Surf Industries). You’re right Mooneemick, the skin is a PVT - Poly Vinyl Topsheet or Ballistic Skin. Which is important to the integrity of the board. Its clogging your paper because it is of a plastic origin. If possible we suggest to repairers to work around the skin and repair over the top of the sheet. Its not as pretty but the board doesn’t loose any strength. There’s layers under the top skin:

  1. PVT
  2. Epoxy Fibreglass
  3. Wood
  4. Epoxy Fibreglass
  5. EPS Core

The staples you have seen are used on this type of technology to hold the layers onto the core prior to the boards being thermo moulded. Its a pretty labour intensive process, takes about 22 hours to manufacture 1 of the 3 Phase ‘Waldens’.

Most important thing with the repairs of these boards is to use epoxy resin with the EPS core, once its sealed you can go to town with the polyester resin.

OK, hope this helps.

Regards, Dan

5

Hey Dan

Thanks for the reply. I finished the repair on the Walden and in the end was very pleased with the result,

I took the PVT off the repair area as the board had a huge buckle on the deck.

After removing approx 1.5mm from the repair area with the trimmer I bagged 2x4oz layers,a layer of hoop pine veneer and another 2x4oz over the veneer and faired it all out with an epoxy filler. Matching the graphics with the airbrush was a challenge to disguise as the original graphics, pins etc are part of the PVT coating kind of like a giant transfer. Sprayed a flexible acrylic clear over and buffed her up came out well and sold a couple of days after going back in the shop.

Cheers

Mooneemick

6

well done Mooneemick, sounds like you are the master repairer. Where are you located? We can always use good contacts for ding repairs.

Dan - GSI

7

Thanks Dan it was a learning curve working on the Walden and i’ve got to say those things are built TOUGH !

I can be contacted through" Paul and Ken the Surfboard Men" at the Logshack in Coffs Harbour, one of the most ’ Surfer ’ orientated surfshops around ( you can barely move for all the boards in there ! ) run by a couple of champion blokes who are both excellent surfers.

Cheers

Mooneemick