I cracked my red x fin on a rock and the fin box has some damage on the deck side and a little on the bottom. Since the cracks run right up against the fin box how can I get a strong bond to prevent it from splitting again. thanks sr
…w/o seeing it ,it’s hard to say how/or what to do.Just fill,and patch should do it.Is the box itself damaged or just the bond around it?Herb
Hey herb, the box itself is intact it’s the bond around it thats cracked. Thanks sr
…What I would do is get a basting needle/or hypo if you can,larger the gauge the better.You should be able to find a basting needle at your supermarket.If not then a blow worm bottle w/ needle. …Mix up a super thin batch of resin ,slower setting,and fill the syringe/bottle.Inject the mix where you can find spaces to do so,if there’s not enough space ,make the holes to inject…After that,fill and glass.Herb
I worked with Red-X since 1998 and the biggest problem we have encountered is people not putting a total of 12 oz of cloth where the holes get cut. That’s deck and bottom. We learned the hard way about this requirement on a Mentawai trip where we broke rails OFF! of 7 boards that only had 8 and 10 oz total around the holes. In your case the box/fin have deflected far enough to start a tear and however you choose to fix the area (I can’t see it exactly) be sure you have the proper amount of cloth back into the area. Grind away the glass that is torn or buckled. To be honest the best fix (if you have the right tools) is to router the old box out (after grinding away the messed up glass and re-glassing and hotcoating the area right on top of the old box) and putting a new box in. On heavy duty applications we have added glass ON TOP of the finished boxes (glass overs) usually two layers of 6 oz cloth. Use a high speed 1/8 drill bit to open the hole back up deck and bottom. Lastly, by all means break the edge of the hole on the deck side. We have been seeing boxes lacerating rider’s feet!!! Good Luck.
Thanks guys I’m doing a combo of both tips. I injected where I could plus patched and glassed over the whole box. As soon as it dries I’ll sand it down and dremel back the openings. Thanks SR
It’s gonna break again. Follow plus one shapers instructions, he knows what he is talking about. Once the bond between foam and box has been seperated, the box will still be wiggling inside the board, even though you reglassed at the top and bottom surfaces, and attempted to inject some resin around the box. The injection thing hardly ever works. You just can’t get the resin in where it needs to be.
Hmmm bummer, well since it’s done I’m gonna give it a go . If it cracks again I’ll have to take it in and have a new box installed. Thanks for the advice. SR
if its leakin water the best thing to do would be cut out the area with a utility razor blade. fill it with resin and filler. sand then glass over. just like doing a basic ding repair. this way you can get out all the water and give it a stronger then it started out with finish. John c
I’ve seen herbie do injections around other type boxes,they all held up just fine,you must be doing them wrong if they’re cracking back out.The best way to fix it is to just re-route the hole and install a new box.