Hi, the edge of my fin is being ground down by the sand, and is getting close to the wood. any suggestions on repair? has anyone tried kevlar instead of fiberglass, as it is more abrasion resistant?
thanks
Loosing the board to the beach, because you don’t use a leash? Or, riding the board into the shallows, and hitting the bottom? I’m curious, because you don’t see that kind of wear much, after the introduction of the leash.
hi bill, I always use a leash. I ride at a beach break, often the rides are short. I try to be careful and jump off before I hit the sand on the way in. obviously, I am not always successful…
Hi padlnjones,
We work with various types of kevlar and innegra materials and wouldn’t suggest using it for this application. If you want to repair this fin, one great way is to mix up some resin (poly or epoxy depending) with some thiksil or aerosil and apply it directly to the flattened area. Both of these fillers have anti-sagging properties that will allow you to put it on and it won’t drip down the fin or move out of place. They are also not white like q-cel and the thiksil will add strength as well. The aerosil will also add strength but not as much as the thiksil. Once it’s hardened you can just sand it down and blend it into the original foil of the fin. This is the simple way of doing it. The other way is to lay up cloth on either side, saturate your fin rope and lay the piece in-between the fabric on top of the fin, let it cure and then foil it back into the fin and then hotcoat the fin and blend it all together. Your choice. Good luck!
hi, thanks for the reply. The thiksil sounds like the way to go. A random googling found it at only one place, Fiberglass Hawaii, with an office in Ventura CA. (I am in So Carolina)… I have some West Systems Epoxy. would that work for this application?
Looks very much like it was ridden into the sand too many times. Pretty common on beginner’s boards before leashes came along. Having done many, here’s what I suggest.
Plain old fiberglass and resin. Laminate multiple layers along both sides of the fin, right near the edge, until it builds up more than there used to be. Do the last layer with sanding resin. Sand to original contour. Apply hotcoat and sand til smooth. Go surfing.
You may want to laminate a chunk of fin rope along the edge and sand that before doing cloth layers. Builds up the missing part quicker and easier. YMMV
Depends on how comfortable you are with glassing odd shapes and contours.
hi sammy, thanks for the reply. Do you mean to laminate small strips just near the edge, or laminate all the way up the side of the fin from the base to the edge?
Just the edge. If you can get fin rope, or make your own, it goes faster. Make your own? Get some 8 oz or 10 oz glass. Typical stuff from boatyard or autobody type. Nothing fancy or expensive. Pull a bunch of strands from the edge of the cloth until you have a nice little bundle of about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Laminate that to the fin edge, sand to desired contour, finish with a layer of cloth plus hotcoat, sand again.
Use some tape on one side to make a well the shape of the missing fin parts, pour resin into the well when the fin is on it’s side. let it harden, pull the tape sand back ot the desired shape. Repeat if nessesary on the other side of the fin.
Simply adding a bunch of resin will certainly achieve a cosmetic end as far as making the fin look similar to its original outline. It will do nothing for strength and the fin will wear down even faster than it did, before.
True. Add some glass.
The west system epoxy is fine but you need the filler as well. We ship all over the world so you can either order it online or call in an order. http://shop.fiberglasshawaii.com or 805.644.0009.