surfboard repair woes

[Jimi]

Just noticed after my surf this afternoon that my board has delamination next to one of the fins...

so I got the dremel out , cut away the delaminated fiberglass... sanded away the discoloured foam, and now I'm waiting for the board to dry out enough to be filled and re fiberglassed.

No surfing for me in the next week and now I need to find some decent clear resin and lightweight cloth to make the repair good.... in the meantime my board is sitting in my room with a big hole in it, looking very second hand.

bugger.

[tomcat360]

if you look on swaylocks, I'm sure you can find a supplier around you. There are tons of aussies around there.

What kinda dremel do you have? The one I have doesn't adjust in height, and cuts too deep into the board.

[northswell]

Ever tried a Router, very acurate and you can set the depth, ideal for fin plugs.

[Jimi]

I've attacked it with the dremel (with ok results) and just finished smearing some lightweight filler over the areas where the foam was rotten.

I was using a thin grinding disc on the dremel, which cut a bit too deep in a couple of places, but I have had to use filler anyway, so it won't be a problem.

A router would have been a better option, but I don't have one handy... I'll need to get one before I start making a board (project no 507)...


Tomorrow I'll be sanding the filler and applying a layer of cloth... fingers crossed it'll be surfable by sunday.

[Jimi]

just out of interest, what's the best way to get a good gloss finish on the fibreglass? I've heard covering the gelcoat layer with clingwrap while it sets works, but I'd prefer not to stuff around with clingwrap and mould release agents if possible.

[rich r]

They make a router attachment for the dremel, too. You can specify specific depths and everything. works like a charm for small jobs, especially in tight spaces.

[tomcat360]

Haven't seen that, sounds pretty cool though.

Best gloss is just hot coat (lam resin with stryene, or buy it as hotcoat), brush it on after the lam has set. (Don't touch the lam with bare hands! it leaves black marks [I didn't know that ])

And then you can gloss coat after that if your board is gloss coated.

I've got a fish I picked up at the end of the season that might need an entire rail stripped, because the glass buckled at the lap on the bottom, and the last person didn't care to fix it. Also, the nose has a HILARIOUS repair, it's like 20 layers of glass slapped on.

[Jimi]

thanks for the advice tomcat, sounds easier than I expected.

I gotta get me one of those router attachments... that would make repairs a lot easier.

[jethrodog]

You can get the router attachment at Home Depot, or another home building superstore/tool store near you.
But, if you are using it fairly regularly, get a router. Porter Cable makes a nice little laminate trimmer router that is small, easy to use, and way more precise than a dremel. The motor is WAY better, will last you your whole life. You can get a huge assortment of bits that will work better than dremel points.
I must admit though, the dremel is nice for small or cramped spaces jobs.

[Jimi]

Well, It's official, the surfboard is usable again!

Gonna take it for it's test surf this arvo. Fingers crossed all my fiberglassing holds the water out.

Thanks again for the tips and advice.

[tomcat360]

Woohoo! where are the pictures?

I think I'm gonna bite the bullet in a little while and buy a nice router. I need to use one on the skateboards too to get som really nice results.

[Jimi]

The test-surf went well, the fin didn't fall off, and no water got into the repair!

Will post pics soon, but unfortunately, the filler I used dried a darker colour than the original foam, so the repair is pretty obvious.

[tomcat360]

Really? the stuff I use usually is bright white and noticable--did you use cabisoil or q-cell? I could see it happening with cabisol

[Jimi]

The filler I used is a lightweight filler powder (made by International paints as a filler for yacht hulls) mixed with clear polyester resin.

I then put a single layer of 85g woven fibreglass cloth over the entire area.

[tomcat360]

Looks good!

[Jimi]

NEWS JUST IN:

Over 4 surfs later, and there's still no sign of water damage!

looks like good 'ol resin and fibreglass did the trick!

(just a shame it's still a different colour to the rest of the board).