Warning signs to look for when buying a used board

[pcm0725]

I am going to try and buy my first used board from a private seller. I talked to him on the phone and he mentioned it had some dings in it, but it didn’t affect the performance. So can anyone give me some advice on what to look for so I will know if the board is in good condition when I go see it?

[drowningbitbybit]

Dings are to be expected in a second hand board.

Signs to look out for...
Dings that go through to the foam.
Deep cracks in the glass (there will always be light cracking around dings).
Yellowing of the board.
Delamination (glass peeling away from the foam).

The first two are a judgement call, "How bad do I think this is?", while the last two are time to walk away and a polite refusal.

Yellowing might be due to age and sun, but might be waterlogging of the foam, so dont take the chance.

[regforte]

Agree with the above. Small stuff can be fixed. I usually pick up a board knowing I either have to fix something myself or spend 50 or so USD to have it professionally done. Of course the board must be priced accordingly.

Deal Breakers:

- Delamination

Look for soft spots, particularly underfoot and/or where the rails get grabbed. Avoid these situations as they usually aren't worth what it costs to properly fix it. The board should be 100% tight.

- Creasing / Repaired breaks

If a board has been broken in half, skip it. No matter who repaired it or any other such assurances from the seller.

Also, look for warning signs that the board might be about to break. Look for stress marks that run perpendicular to the stringer. This usually means it's on the verge of breaking.

[oldgrom]

Allso check the fin plugs/boxes or glass on fins for any repairs/damage if it's been repaired make sure it was done right!!! or walk away leash plug too. If there is wax on it they should have no prob scraping/cleaning it off (i'm looking at the board not the wax) wax hides a ton of WTF. If they won't scrape and clean it,, walk away. Nose,tail should be in good shape with pos repair at the tail rails so look for darker yellow/brown this usally means watter intake. Then look at both sides inspecting the rails for dings/repairs. Any major cracks/delam/crease,,walk away. Sun burnt yellow don't make it bad but is not good ither, use your judgement. Push around the rails and deck seeking any soft spots if it has em ,,walk away. broken in any way,,walk away. Get a repair cost estimate sheet or knowledge from a shop so you have an idea of repair cost that you can evaluate in when inspecting a board,ie it's a 600.00 dollar stick new,now used take off a couple hundred for that but overall is in great shape but has 100.00 in repair but their selling it for 200.00 your total cost is 300+.

or 600 new now used but in piss poor shape and has 300 in repair but their asking 100.00,, walk away.

Heel dents and a few dings should be expected but I have gotten some that were unknown if they were ever used cause they did'nt show it.Even if it has some dings but the owner new to at least keep it water tight it's probably worth looking at and if they were temp repair/patches that can be pro fixed say go for it. Don't be lured in with the stomp pad,bag leash shizz ither, a surfboard is a surfboard and a leash is a leash etc. Oh do be looking at a stomp pad if it has one I've seen a board in good condition used med hard but had a new pad on it,, it was there hiding a delam isue, so if it has a pad don't let it dictate a price diff once on their a bitch to get off so to bad thier loss!!! and if it's totaly a new pad question it slightly

[jon.biarritz]

Great stuff! Minor addition to the awesome list above: Check the fin boxes with the fins in (if the fins are not on the board) to see if there is any looseness or play, especially with FCS plugs which are the most fragile.

[oldgrom]

^^^^^ For sure check it with fins if possible and check the scew holes to make sure there not striped out too.

[Kristof]

An old thread but I'm looking to potentially buy a first shortboard and saw a used one for pretty cheap (80 euro). It's pretty much yellow all over though and it looks like there are some darker yellow spots too. If anyone with some more expertise would be so kind to look at the picture you can find it at : [url]http://www.markplaats.nl[[url], then search for "chris harris".

I will of course take a better look at it when picking it up in case I'd decide to buy it but since it's a two hour drive it would be nice to get a potential "go" or "no go" from some more experienced surfers.

grtz,

Kristof

[Beachbum]

check if the entire board is spray painted because that may hide a buckled board, delams, and any other mishaps.

[Kristof]

It doesn't look like it's spray painted, just discoloured from the sun with some darker spots too, which are caused by water intake I'd say. The seller says they might be from water intake (I think he bought it used himself). Too bad it's such a long drive to go check it out myself.

[TReMoR]

!! i didnt see this until now, and i recently bought a used board for $40.
It is white, no dis coloration, some repairs i need to do, but it has a lot of perpendicular lines across the stringer..
I didnt think too much of it, because it didnt seem to have gone through the glass. Thought it was just some minor stress fractures
There is a lot of them below where your feet go.. (traction pad and middle)
I was thinking that it wouldnt snap... because of the place where its located.. . like ive never seen a board snap under a traction pad .
LOoks likea fun board though Any thoughts on this? how bad could it be?

[isaluteyou]

stress cracks often appear in PU boards round the stringer. Particular just in front of the tail pad often caused by duckdiving. This is not so much of an issue if the stress cracks are not going right through. Very often after a while the stringer in that area will get dented along the side and start to crack - in which case that needs to be fixed otherwise its an accident waiting to happen. Happens to some of my boards eventually. If it happens i usually just apply some home made q cell around the area then stick a fairly large bit of fiber glass over to distribute the weight - if you dont it will just crack along the same seam again in no time.

[crepuscular]

actually, I dont find yellowing is much of a problem, unless it's VERY yellow, it would mean very used, or there's a leak...