Surfing Waves

Hi everyone!

I just got a 7'3 surfboard as a gift and I need to fix the tail. As you can see from the images, the tail is quite damaged. I never repaired a surfboard before. I was reading about it and checking some videos. I just bought SOLAREZ UV Cure Polyester Ding Resin - Surfboard Repair Kit, on Amazon. I need your help figuring out how much of the damaged part I need to remove and whether the product I bought it's OK. I have read that if the foam inside is epoxy you need a different product, but I do not know if it's epoxy.

The fiberglass part that is slightly moving is about 3 inches, should I remove it all or try to glue it back in place? It dented on the edge, but I can can also slightly lift it if I try. The part that lifts is 3 inches...hope it makes sense

What do you guys think?

The board is most likely PU Polyurethane at that vintage and so the Solar resin you have will be fine!
Boards that require EPOXY resin are EPS , expanded polystyrene which non epoxy resins will dissolve, the foam is not epoxy!

The tail has taken quite a beating , quite big fix, check out a ding shop repair price and see if your time is worth a similar amount!

Hey Jaffa, thanks for your quick reply!
I’d like to fix this myself since I am quite handy and enjoy doing these things. It shouldn’t take more than 1-2 hours but I may be underestimating the job.

As you can see from the images, the hole is just at the very bottom part, but the last 3-4 inches of fiberglass are kind loose. Should I cut off that whole part?

If you’re handy and enjoy doing things, then do it correctly and not opt for the quick fix ( which there is a brand of UV repair under that name, but I prefer Solarez ). Best to cap the whole tail with a layer of fiberglass, like slipping a beanie on your head.

But if you want to go the easy route and just get it semi-water tight. Then I would squeeze the solarez into the cavity bit by bit. Get it fully filled THEN put a large bead around the whole edge like a mini car bumper.

( the golden rule in board repair is “ if it moves, take it off”. But in your case ( using only UV gel and no laminating of cloth ) you need to combine the two sandwich halves. If you cut off the one flappy part you’ll only have one piece of bread to work with )

It makes sense. I want to fix it properly but I don’t have time to do it before tomorrow. Do you think i can do an easy fix so I can use the board tomorrow and then work on fixing it lately?

I don't know your skills and you don't know mine. I've seen some people make dings even worse. Main thing is to build up layers slowly, not fill in a large area all at one time. And better to leave a bump and be strong than sand it down smooth and be weak.

Depending on the amount of UV rays and a sunny day. If you can cast a strong shadow, the sun's not strong enough.

Ok, thanks for the help!

If that is the case, I can work on that layering and then go surfing without sandpapering. I’ll use the sandpaper later on when I have more time. I don’t think I am good enough to even notice a bumpy tail when surfing.

So I can apply many later one after another? Since it take a few minutes to harden, I can put 3-4 layers in an hour or so I think.

FrancescoWaves wrote:So I can apply many later one after another? Since it take a few minutes to harden, I can put 3-4 layers in an hour or so I think.

Sorry just notice I wrote "If you can cast a strong shadow", should be if you "CAN'T cast a strong shadow". If the sun is strong enough, the Solarez will gel up in 15-20 seconds. 5-10 minutes will be hard.

Looks like a great board. Congratulations on getting into it, one new guy to another

Thanks all!!

So, as you can see I removed all the part that was not firmly attached... and it was a lot!

I think I need to get some fiberglass cloth to fix that, right?
As far as the process, I first apply the solarez to fill the emptiness and let it dry, and then add the fiberglass and solarez again?

You’ve gone beyond the use a little solar resin.
You need polyester resin and it’s catalyst , also known as hardener.
Follow directions in mixing , you need to lay glass fiber weave cut to the size of the unglassed section as you first lay up.
Rather than talk you through there are some pretty good videos on repairs on YouTube .

The job can be messy, smelly slightly toxic, acetone is good cleaner. BE AWARE everything is flammable!
Major tip, clean all wax well away, do in well ventilated area.
Sand all surfaces where you want the resin to adhere.
Take your time, sand between coats and after glassing do a gloss or finish coat to avoid a harsh edge line between old and new glass.
Watch the videos .
Good luck

Yeah, Jaffa. I had the feeling I was putting myself in something bigger when I was removing that big piece. I’ll get the poliester resin and catalyst as well as glass fiber.
Do you know of a good kit that has it all, on Amazon?

I’ll follow the videos and let you guys know the result

There already IS chopped fiberglass in the Solarez resin.

I watched many videos and it seems they use the polyester resin with catalyst only when the foamy part inside is damaged. Mine is ok.
I may get the fiberglass sheets, but I also saw this video where someone just used solarez:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9gT2zYnth20

If I only use solarez for my situation, what can happen?

Since I don’t have anything i’d like to avoid buying products to use just once :/

FrancescoWaves wrote:Yeah, Jaffa. I had the feeling I was putting myself in something bigger when I was removing that big piece. I’ll get the poliester resin and catalyst as well as glass fiber.
Do you know of a good kit that has it all, on Amazon?

I’ll follow the videos and let you guys know the result

Any surfer worth their salt have done board repair like this at some stage in their evolution.
Good luck!

I did a similar repair with no previous experience. It went ok although a professional could have done better. I documented it is this video. Good luck.

Here’s a good video that shows a tail repair with even worse damage than yours. They’re using epoxy instead of polyester resin, but it should help you see how to prepare the area and how to lay out the fiberglass cloth. https://youtu.be/aHkbq4Wstyw

Thanks guys for sharing those. I’ll buy everything I need and will do it myself.
I’ll keep you posted and send some pictures of the result!

LearningToSurf wrote:I did a similar repair with no previous experience. It went ok although a professional could have done better. I documented it is this video. Good luck.

Hey man, I really like your channel! It's cool that you've posted so many vids of your surfing journey, I think they're really good for beginners to watch and learn from. You also don't have a lot of great surf to work with, but what can you do...if you're ever out in LA/Socal give me a holler-

DrDave wrote:Here’s a good video that shows a tail repair with even worse damage than yours. They’re using epoxy instead of polyester resin, but it should help you see how to prepare the area and how to lay out the fiberglass cloth. https://youtu.be/aHkbq4Wstyw

Nice video. They are using polyester resin instead of epoxy. With epoxy you don't need a hot coat