There is a cruncher type ding near the tail on the rail and continues with a small crack on the bottom of the board. Heres a pic so you know exactly what I am talking about.
I have some experience with general surfboard repairs like delams, holes, and small cracks but since this my favorite small wave board and the ding is near the tail I want this repair to be very strong and professional.
My main question is should I use seperate pieces of cloth for the bottom and rail/deck or should I use 1 big piece and wrap it from the deck to the bottom? Any help or comments would be great. If you want to see some better pics or have questions just ask.
By the way this my first post and its good to be part of swaylocks community.
Fill the crunched area with cabisil, sand smooth, then cover with two pieces of glass. Two pieces that will cover the whole ding, being this is a rail it normally has two layers of glass sometimes three. Sand smooth then gloss and your done.
When you hot coat you might want to use tape on the rail so you can get a sharp edge.
I’ll agree as to the filler method, and if you can get 'em glass microspheres in the resin filler mix will be lighter than cabosil/q-cell.
But for glassing over it, no, one layer of 6 oz will be plenty just wrapped around the rail, shoot for a 3/4" lap onto the old glass all around. I’ve never had any problems going with one layer. More will maybe give you a lump or irregularity there in addition to weight, time and hassle. Besides necessarily increasing the radius of the hard edge there.
Strength isn’t really an issue ( the resin-based filler is a helluva lot stiffer than foam and will bond better to the cloth than the foam does) and the reason for a sizable lap at the rail is more to tie the top and bottom laminations together. Shoot for smooth rather than anything else.
Use one piece of cloth. I’d use just 4 oz. to get it smooth like Doc says. You only need the cloth to hold in the filler, not protect it. On the filler, don’t try a do one deep fill because it will get too hot and discolor. On clear boards, I’ve been filling using clear resin mixed with about 25% of something called “Silcell”. This stuff looks like Q-cell but doesn’t turn the filler white. Instead it is a milky translucent which blends in well.
The simplest, quickest, adequately strong patch you can do is the one you’ll do: remove damaged material, 60 grit sand 1/2 inch around the ding, make a wax paper or masking tape “cup”, and fill with a Qcell mix. When hard, remove the tape, rough shape with a surform, medium with 60 grit, fine with 150 or 220, and you’re good to go. You can brush coat a finish over it, but if this is a shop board you surf a lot, expect the patch to long outlast the board.
In my experience, Qcell is the lightest material to use, won’t absorb water, easily shaped, and will make a adequate color match to a fairly new board. Glass over the top isn’t needed, the Qcell mix is far stronger than regular foam. As long as you don’t mix it too dry, it will bond nicely to a 60 grit sanded surface.