Surfing Waves

I just found a ding on one of the rails of my board. I think it's minor enough that I can repair it myself, I was just going to leave it but there's a crack in the fiberglass. I never did this before, I was just going to patch it up using solarez. I assume my board is PU but not 100%. I attached a picture hope it's viewable. It's a pretty shallow crack so would I have to do any sanding prior to applying the solarez or just apply a thin layer straight away then sand after? Is there anything else I need to know? Thanks

You have to be very careful about using the wrong type of resin. I have never used solarez so no help for you

What you have is Shatters, not really a ding. Run your finger nail across the area. If the nail stops, then it ain't water tight. the part that looks like deer antlers, might be okay. the long line , most likely breaking the surface. What's hard with Shatters is the area you repair is soo shallow and small. Sometimes the repair just peels off like remnants of fried eggs in the pan. If you have a Dremel tool, you can slowly scrape off layers to you just reach the fiberglass, do a scrub down area a little wider than the shater, tape off , put one coat of Solarez ( remember to lightly knead the tube ), just 10-15 seconds in good sunlight , then the 2nd coat with a clear plastic covering taped over it ( NOT saran wrap/ plastic wrap, those will leave wrinkles )

thanks insight, at this point i'm scared of messing up my board but it's cheaper to patch it up myself and a learning process. if i don't have a dremel could i just sand it by hand using sand paper, not sure which grit to use? does it matter how much i sand around the shattered area? if i sand more (more as in surface area not depth) would it be easier to apply the resin?

do I have to sand after the first and/or second coat to prevent a "bump" formation? i was watching videos and most use only one coat unless i'm mistaken. also i'm not sure what you meant by plastic covering, I assumed plastic wrap. sorry for all the questions.

"if i don't have a dremel could i just sand it by hand using sand paper" If you use your hands, your finger tips tends to push in valleys during the sanding. ( during the prep and the finish ). Learn to Block sand.

" not sure which grit to use?" finer the grit, the less scratches. but the more time it takes. 100, 240. Wet sanding with 300.

"does it matter how much i sand around the shattered area?" just a run up area like a centimeter around the edge of the shatter. too close and you sand off the repair.

"do I have to sand after the first and/or second coat to prevent a "bump" formation?" You can, if it looks fine then no need the 2nd. But i like to fill the shatter, then cover the shatter.

" i'm not sure what you meant by plastic covering" Like the plastic the Solarez tube came packaged in. ( they call it blister pack in the US ) I have used a clear file folder in a pinch. It makes the Solarez "skin" over quick and smooth.

With that type of ding I would sand the area by hand with 120 grit. Cover the area with resin and then tape of the wet resin with masking tape and leave to go off.
Once its gone off I would sand it lightly with 240 then 400 wet and dry.
The ding is minor and trying to anything more than a seal up the crack and make it watertight repair is likely to do more harm than good in my opinion.

KS

cool, thanks a lot of the replies everyone. i'll give it a go once i get everything.

So I managed to patch up 3 shatters however I think they're unsuccessful. The 1st seems to have sand collecting, the 2nd has a browning spot, and the 3rd looks horrible. I used baseball card plastic sleeves to wrap the area after applying solarez. I used the same technique for all 3 but the last one came out extremely wrinkled. I'm having second guess whether or not it'll seal out the water. I tried to do it myself to learn but I feel I did more damage. Not sure what I should do now. Is this usually how the first self-repair goes? or I am missing something.

What resins did you use? That is the first question.
It is good to work in as clean an environment as possible.
If you used solar resin you need to let it fully cure in the sunlight or with a UV light Otherwise curing can be incomplete and the surface stays sticky!
Similarly if you mix resin and hardener with insufficient hardener ( catalyst) the resin remains tacky!
Too much hardener the resin can catch fire in extremes or go brittle and brownish yellow from being cooked.
If there was water in the foam before you did the repair sunshine could have yellowed the foam .
Still an easy fix, sand off your learnings and do again. We have all had to do that.
Not sure about the football card plastic sleeves, they may have stopped the sunlight.