My apologies if this has been discussed, I have done a search but can’t find answers.
I have a Hap Jacobs longboard. Wood laminate, surftech.
On the first time out, had a bit of a spillage and my shin came into contact with the rail, not too heavy, only a slight bruise on my leg, but, a sizeable ding on the board, the epoxy was fractured and flaking slightly and cracks extended out for about 1.5 inches, the wood does not appear to have been damaged. Later that same day I was putting my board back in its bag at home and bumped the board onto the corner of a wall, again, very lightly, this put a similar ding to the first one, being a fairly experienced surfer I was very suprised by the fragility of this board. Could there be a manufacturing problem or is this typical? If I cut away the surrounding epoxy and re-apply how do I get a decent finish? Should I take it back and get my money back (a sizeable amount!)?
its always been my opinion that the surftech wood laminates are to resin rich ,they have so much resin on the outside with very little glass , ive seen them crack up like a shattered windscreen when knocked …
beautiful boards to look at , great for the mantle piece …
but ultimatly a low glass to resin ratio , makes them heavy and weak…also the resin you saw flaking isnt epoxy its polyester,
it has epoxy under the wood and polyester over,
because polyester is way more brittle youll get hairline cracks , they will let water in and the wood will stain where exposed to water…
the best results you can achieve with timber laminates , is to have epoxy either side of the skin and a high glass to resin ratio,
and using an epoxy that will bend further than the wood before it fails…
the surftech woodies are a cheap imitation of the real thing, i will say they look nice tho…
any board builder should be able to do a decent repair , with normal poly resin…
what you experienced is typical ,there not as durable as there made out to be …
a friend took out his new wood veneer surftech spoon-dropped it rail down on the rocks-sustained way more damage than anticipated, and much more than if it was a foam/volan product.we were both VERY surprised-sacrifice it for the good of us all(ie, hopefully it will bring in some surf!)
Zeb-------------- I repaired alot of these boards in Maui for local shops who use them as rentals… I was very suprized the first time I did one to find no glass whatsoever under the polyester finish. The finish sands easy, cracks etc can be removed easily, but you will find yourself down to the wood veneer in no time. Once I got my area of repair cleaned up I would apply a piece of 4oz with UV resin. Then hot coat with UV and sand. I would then spray a coat of polyurethane over the repair for my final gloss coat. I bought the Poly in a spray can at the Depot. This process makes for a fast repair, that was usually undetectable. The guys I did this for couldn’t even find the ding. McDing
Funny how Tuflites implode like a collapsing star when dropped on the rail. I’ve had similar experiences with seemingly light collisions that resulted in major damage. Typically, when a normal board cracks one on the shin, the shin comes out at least as bad as the board. Not so with the Tuflites.
At least they don’t EXPLODE when you drop 'em on the ground.
Bert -------------Good to see you back. We missed you on the page mate. I’d much rather have one of your handcrafted wooden boards than a surftech. McDing
Funny how Tuflites implode like a collapsing star when dropped on the rail. I’ve had similar experiences with seemingly light collisions that resulted in major damage. Typically, when a normal board cracks one on the shin, the shin comes out at least as bad as the board. Not so with the Tuflites.
At least they don’t EXPLODE when you drop 'em on the ground.
That’s funny that’s not what happened when my knee broke in February, the board had a minor ding and my knee exploded. Five months later the leg is better, but not 100% and the board has a minor pressure ding, no delamination. Must have been my angle of fall perpendicular to the deck.
there could be a mistake between the tufflites and the wood veneers…
the wood veneers are definatly to resin rich…and like mcding said no glass on the outside…the only glass i found on them was around the tail block and fin box…
but the coloured tufflites with the eps cores and pvc skins are a different contruction technique again…
i actually reckon they are well built…
so while i give a partial thumbs up for tufflite , its a definate thumbs down for the woodies of surftech…