Newbie, trying to fix board dings for my son....

[waternyc]

So, I recently picked up a used superfish 7S surfboard. We live in Greece and have just started catching some waves. However, when I bought it it was all taped up with electrical tape here and there. Minor damage and cracks all around. We decided to order some ding repair kits to get things going. I've managed to fix some, watch some videos, but I'm still a bit confused.
It think what is confusing me is the difference between a quick fix method and a time-consuming method.
I fixed on little very superficial crack with Sunpowered Dura Resin, a black tube with a funky face on it..sanded it down before and after and its actually pretty good ...I'd give it a B+, I then went on and actually dug out another piece that had a good crack on it. The blue was also pushed in and cracked so I dug it out with a mini drill that I have down to some of the foam, tried to mix some resin with a Solarez kit that I bought, cut pieces of fiber and let the thing sit out in the sun for 2 days, and it never fully cured. It stayed pretty slimy. I then cleaned this out making a bigger hole and patched it up with some Solarez Fiberfill UV-Cure Epoxy Resin mixed with some fiber....preped and sanded it down and I would also give this result a B+, although better overall it stays at a B+ because the patch is visible as I had to cut some of the blue out.... but it's dry (that's what counts)....
So now my final dilemmas are the following.... 1) what is the hot coat? what material is used to make the hot coat? do i need it? and second what is the difference between the Microballon filled UV-cure epoxy resin and the Fiberfill UV-Cure Epoxy Resin (which do i use first?)
As you can see I have lots of kits ( the Solarex, the Ding all, the Duraresin, ) Trying to figure out whats best....for these little cracks in the glass and indents.... can i just fill the indents over the color? or do i need to bore them out.???

[billie_morini]

waternyc,
You are commended for making these repairs. It sounds like you are doing very well.

I'll answer your questions as best as I can. My answers are based on experience.

Question 1: what is the hot coat? what material is used to make the hot coat? do i need it?
Answer 1: hot coat is the final layer of mixed resin and hardener. It provides a hard and clear protective coat. A hot coat can be applied to a poly board or an epoxy board. To make a hot coat, you add more hardener to the resin than normal. Small and even mediul repairs do not really "need" a hot coat. I rarely apply a hot coat to repairs.

Question 2: what is the difference between the Microballon filled UV-cure epoxy resin and the Fiberfill UV-Cure Epoxy Resin (which do i use first?)
Answer 2: I will provide an answer based on traditional two-part resin and hardener epoxy. If you use sun cure resin entirely, then ignore the term "hardener." Microballoons are very tiny glass beads. Another name for microballons is Qcell. A mixture of resin and hardenr containing balloons is used to fill holes and dents with a mixture resulting in the lightest (e.g., lowest desity) fill material as possible. A mixture of resin and hardener containing balloons is not water tight. Therefore, you must apply a coat of resin and hardener without balloons on top of applied balloons. It's even better, but not always necessary to lay 1 or 2 ounce (oz) glass over microballoons with mixed resin. If yiu do this, wait until the resin containing the microballoons is cure Microballoons do not provide strength. They only filll holes and dents with as little mass as possible. Fiberfill is a mixture of resin and hardener that provides stregnth without the same concern for light weight The fibers in fiberfill are microscopic to macrscopic glass fibers. These fibers orient themselves in various angles and provide strenth without the apication of woven glass fabric. It is helpful in repairs where you need strength, but not glass mat. Unlike microfiber balloons, fiberfill is water tight (in theory). I cannot think of an application where you would use these very different materials simultaneously.