to fix, or not to fix

[Burn120]

i bought a 2nd hand surfboard. The guy i bought it off fixed a ding in the tail and said the board was good to ride, when i got it home i was checking out the board and noticed that there was 1 ding that when i rubbed my finger against it i could feel it was cracked, the others were smooth. Im really quite clueless about surfing but im just a beginer and eager to learn. What are your thoughts about the ding? does it need to be fixed or not?
My brother said i should just cover the area with wax or paint it with glue but i dont want to.
can anyone tell me how you know when a ding is okay, or when it has to be fixed?

[PapaW]

Well the longer you leave it whilst using the board, the worse it will get. Best to treat early.

Presuming its jsut the glassing thats cracked.... sand it away and then replace (following instructions) with some epoxy resin. Not going to look new cause o fthe colour but it will be fixed.

[easty]

if its cracked you can purchase small repair kits from your local surfshop , there $22 over here , so a lot cheaper than getting a ding doctor to fix it

good luck

R

[Driftingalong]

Get some suncure (sp?). Real easy to use...great stuff. Buy some at a surf shop. If you don't know what to do with it, ask someone when you buy it...

[little waves]

I reccoment sun cure as well, although from talking to people on here...it may only be available in U.S.? I think they have a website though, check it out.

Don't paint over it. could ruin your board. wax works as a good temp. fix, but but is a pain in the ass to clean out when you are ready to repair the dfing permanently.

somone once told me unless the ding is starting to discolor there is no need to repair (i didagree with this though). If it is just a surface crack (not all the way through) I would do as stated above, and wait and see if it discolors, which means water is leaking in. If it looks deep enough that water may get in the board, it is time to repair.

when repairing always sand first, as your repair material will stick better, whatever you may choose. Sun cure is my product of choice, it is a gel like substance you mold over the crack/ding. when finished you bring it in the sun and the sun hardens it, then you can wet sand off the rough edges and you are ready to surf (cures in minutes in bright sun).

hope some of that helped.

[drowningbitbybit]

SunCure is global. Should be able to get it anywhere!

[grub]

SunCure is global. Should be able to get it anywhere!

Agree... Know that it is at least available in US and Australia but thought that it was a global product...

In my opinion sun-cure is only a temporary fix... My experience with it is that it eventually cracks around the edges... great product for when you are traveling… glassing isn't to hard and all who surf should know the basics.

If it is an old board, glass the basted! If it’s a little crack get a sharp knife and/or a little saw and cut away the area around the crack. Try not to compress the foam to much... learning how to make minor repairs is very important... its an old board you are learning on doesn't matter how good the finish is, the main thing is to learn new things... an electric sander is useful too. I know in Australia you can pick up a little repair kit that has your polyester resin, catalyst, glass fiber, micro-spheres (gives it a white color and believe its lighter), few different bits of sand paper (to small to be of any real use) etc. from your local surf shop. Other wise go to a hardware store and purchase the above items in bold… heaps of sites on the net for advise or I guess you could just post another question…
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"its more important to understand than to be understood"

[grub]

somone once told me unless the ding is starting to discolor there is no need to repair (i didagree with this though). If it is just a surface crack (not all the way through) I would do as stated above, and wait and see if it discolors, which means water is leaking in. If it looks deep enough that water may get in the board, it is time to repair

I give it the "suck test"... when you get out of the water wrap your lips around it, suck hard... if it seals your right... if you can suck it, generally getting a bit of water to start you had better fix it..
___________________

"its more important to understand than to be understood"

[IdRatherBeSurfing]

suck test eeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!! grosssss!!!!!

[grub]

suck test eeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!! grosssss!!!!!

yer when I wrote it I thought someone would say something; but what else would you call it....

[makai]

for small spider cracks you can feel,use clear finger nail polish.cheap and it works.