TECH TALK: How to repair small dings in both glass and carbon surfboards and foil boards?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 มี.ค. 2022
- Welcome to this Appletree Surfboards tutorial video (appletreesurfboards.com/carbo...)
We believe that everyone should be able to repair small dings, from flight damage, to impacts with the rocks or when you accidentally drop your board on the parking lot. Larger damages, like broken fin boxes or crushed tails are also not too hard, but they will be too complicated for the experienced, so it’s best to ask the assistance of a professional. We might make another video on this in the future!
In general Appletree boards are really strong, and they do not damage easily. Also remember that our foam is 100% waterproof, so even bigger damages do not need immediate fixing when they are not structural.
What do I need for my repair
Epoxy resin, preferably for surfboards, so it is not yellow tinted, but any will do.
Micro balloons for thickening
Black pigment, in case of carbon repair.
Mixing cups
Painters tape
Plastic foil
Sand paper, 100, 180, 320, 400
Optionally some matte clear coat.
To start with the real damage. Take a strong and sharp knife and carefully start removing all of the loose bits of fiberglass. You will always need to make the hole bigger than it was. To make sure the repair has enough to hold on to, and to be sure that you got the entire damage filled. I remove quite a bit, and I also dig a bit of a hole in the foam, also to give the epoxy something to hold on to. Make sure that you remove a bit of foam wider than the opening in the glass, this will help the repair to stay in place and properly seal.
After you are sure you have removed all the loose bits, blow away all the dust and give the whole thing a good sand with rough paper. Also sand the inside and around the repair, but don’t go too far around the repair as this sandpaper leaves nasty scratches. The repair next to it does not require any knife work, just a rough sand with some 60 or 100 grit will do.
Take some plastic film. I use LDPE plastic foil here, but you can use any film, as long as it’s not clingfilm, that is too weak. Packaging plastic from a random item usually works. It does help when it’s transparent, but even that is not necessary. Cut a square of plastic, about 2-3 times the size of the hole, and it’s easiest if two sides are straight. Now put some tape on the edge and stick it to one side of the hole. Same for the carbon board.
It’s now time to mix your two part epoxy. We always do this by weight as it is more accurate. Every epoxy system has a different ratio, so make sure to check your epoxy. Always make sure you have enough, you can mix a second batch, but that is double work. In this case I made about 20 grams which is more than I will need.
When the epoxy is mixed well, add the micro balloons. This stuff is ultralight filler, which will make your epoxy thicker, so it stays in the hole and also much easier to sand. So do use it if you can. It comes as standard in most repair kits you can get at your local surf shop.
Start with about the same volume as your epoxy. Mix slowly as the stuff flies everywhere and you also risk whisking in air which will create bubbles later which you then need to fill again. This should give you this yoghurt like thickness. I like it a bit thicker, so I add another spoon full. Now for the carbon version, I add some black pigment. This helps hiding the repair in a carbon board.
Smear in the epoxy. Make sure to get it into all the cracks and under the laminate first. Then fill the hole completely. Same for the black stuff in the carbon board. Fill it so there is slightly more epoxy than you eventually need. Epoxy will slowly sink into the hole and it also shrinks a bit when hardening. When the hole is filled like this: grab the edge of your plastic foil and pull it tightly over the repair and stick in place with the tape. The neater you do this now, the easier the sanding will be. If you make a mistake, or trap air, just remove and do it again. This is where the clear foil comes in handy, you can see what you are doing. Depending on the epoxy and the temperature, the curing time varies. Just take at least 24 hours, to be sure the epoxy is hard.
Time to remove the foil. Carefully sand away all the access epoxy mix. Slowly sand back to the original shape, constantly checking that you do not sand the board too much. Same for the carbon repair.
So here we are again the next day. The epoxy is cured, and it’s time to finish the repair. Remove the tape. Now just slowly sand the whole thing back to the original shape. When you get close to the final shape, go down in sand paper to avoid scratching 400 or 600 grit is usually where we stop. Keep feeling all the time this is the best way to feel if you have sanded everything, and if the shape is correct. As a final option, you can spray the area with some matte clear coat. This will fill in the last scratches and make the repair less visible. - กีฬา
I've watched a lot of repair videos and this is hands down one of the best - quick, informative, and great visual(s). Really appreciate all of the 'little' pro tips and tricks.
Please keep them coming!
thanks Philip! we are working on many more videos this year.
Best boards ever. Thank you for the tutorial.
Thank your for your kind words!
Putting smaller amounts of epoxy using a pencil or match and stirring it into the hole, you work out the air bubbles and save yourself a second day off the water
Yeww epic guys! Fix it up and get it back in the water in no time...
Hi. Great clip. thanks. What exactly is "micro balloons" is it fiber glass powder?
Hi Saar, It's much lighter than glass powder. It's sometimes sold as Q-cell as well. Google it and you will find it.
Is solarez a good solution?
hi Alfredo, yes, solares is a good option and you can use it in the same way we did here. Solares can sometimes be a bit less durable, but the convenience is making up for that.
Awesome repair video. But just wondering... is there no layer of fiberglass needed on top of the repair? Of even a epoxy hot coat?
Hi Marloes, It really depends on the size of the crack/hole and where it is in the board, if it is in a non structural part, like in the video, right on the deck, and it's small, say, upto 3cm then we usually don't bother. For bigger repairs, yes, we would add carbon or fiberglass for sure. but that brings other issues, and here we just wanted to show w quick fix so you are back on the water soon. We will do a video on bigger repairs this year as well!
@@appletreesurfboards Nice! Quick and easy :) But if it would be a small repair on the nose (let's say 2 cm) , would it be OK to fix it like this as well, or would you use fiberglass in that case?
@@lllllemonade You will be fine without.
If you did hit a hammer right before you went out for an epic session and took on water in the board. How long should you let the board dry? I’m letting water drain out now out ding. Small puddle below. Let sit for a few days?
Hi! If it's one of your boards, you will only have to wait until it's dry to touch. the foam does not take in water. If it;s any other brand, I would not go into the water at all :)
Hello,
I have major damage to the underside of my Jazz (airplane trip). Where can I have the board repaired? I would like to have it done professionally. I live in Germany.
Greetings Michi
Hi! We don't really have an advice for a repair service in Germany. but any surfboard repair shop should be able to do this. if in doubt send them this video. We are also working on more repair videos for bigger damages.
@@appletreesurfboards Hi,
thanks for the info. Where should I send the photos?
mail is out
Hi
I can also use the: SOLAREZ UV Cure Epoxy Ding Repair Resin ?
@@mrein007 yes, it will, but it's not as strong as doing it as we show in the video. If you take care and go thorugh all the steps, you can get good results with Solarez as well.
Lo que no entiendo porque hace tanta mezcla para pequeñas fisuras
if you mix too little, it's shit and you have to mix more. also more epoxy is easier to mix and easier to get the ratio between resin and hardener right. We try to use as little epoxy as possible, but in the past we have made the mistake of mixing not enough, which is really worse.
Hi there! Thanks for the tutorial, one question only, don't you need to add an extra coat of just resin (no qcell) on top of the qcell mix?
thanks! It's just to give you something to sand smooth. if you also ass q-cell to the last layer, it can sometimes be crumbly and small bubbles can happen. just epoxy gives a smooth finish to sand.
This repairs shall be done only with a foam which is waterproof. It shall not be done on EPS foam. The reason is that the epoxy mixed with microballon may not be waterproof anymore.
Good point. If you do it right, and remove enough foam under the surrounding glass/carbon, it should not be a problem at all. The annoying thing with EPS is that is can blow out air when heated slowly, or suck in when cooled. this causes air channels in the epoxy when it cures. Covering the repair with plastic, as we show here drastically reduces this channeling and makes the repair watertight. If still in doubt cover in glass, but even with EPS this is usually not needed in these smaller repairs.
@appletreesurfboards
yes, for Eps foam it is usually better to do it when temperatures goes down to avoid gas expansion due to temperature increase (during the night for example) and to use slow epoxy resin, to avoid temperatures increase due to the reaction between the resin and the hardener. If a vent plug exist on the board, always open it before repair.
I would still recommend for EPS at least a hot coat on the top (better a layer of fiber)
Anyway, this is not really the topic of this video as your boards are not using EPS foam 🙄