So my new (secondhand) board arrived in the mail today and has a ding in its front which is a shame. The board is a Ocean Rodeo Mako 150, I'm looking for advise on how I should go about repairing the ding, or if it even really needs one.
I took it to my local surfboard store (thank-you to OKE Surfboards) and they said a cheap option would be to fill the ding with Araldite to waterproof it.
Please check out the picture and let me know what you think..
I can't make out the board graphic from the photo, so can't tell the year. If it's pre 2011 it will be foam core. They changed to wood core in 2011. From what I can see in the photo, I think it's pre 2011..
You have to be very careful with damage on the foam core boards. The resin bound a lot better to the wood core - but with the foam ones, there some cases of bad delamination after water got into damaged boards. I had a 2009 with no problems at all, great boards!
So, if it's wood, I guess you could just do as you were advised. However, if foam core, make sure it is completely dried out and get a professional repair done if you're not confident or experienced with that type of work.
Carefully sand the manky bits so its smooth.
mount the board so the damage is at the top.
get some epoxy resin. (i use west system).
Mix it. then heat it with a head gun until is thin. don't breath the fumes.
Very carefully pour the resin into the damage. Maybe use a needle or 2 to wedge the gap open abit more to make sure the resin gets in deep.
Wipe any access off bits that don't need resining.
When you are sure the resin has penetrated clamp the area. I cut some bit of plastic bag up and use them under teh clamps so the clamps don't stick to the board.
Wipe any excess off after clamping.
you may need to do a touch up or sand afterwards it needed.
1. Cut the deck surface laminate off with a Stanley knife to remove the bubbled bit.
EDIT 1a. Rough up the area to be repaired with a ~200 grade sandpaper (gets a good bond)
2. Patch over with woven fibreglass mat and epoxy make sure you have good bond between the epoxy the board and the mat. (No bubbles) Your local boat shop should have repair kits with enough material to do the job.
3. After the epoxy has cured sand it down and shape the repair into the existing board surface.
Thanks for the advise guys, fortunately the board has the wooden core as it's a 2013, I gave the exposed surface a light sand and applied one of Selleys Araldite products to the damaged surface. I did have fibreglass cloth from Bunnings but on getting it home it's weave is quite spaced out, I think a tight weave would be the best bet so I haven't applied it. Hopefully this minor repair will be a short term solution, if it deteriorates I'll follow through with some of the more detailed repair suggestions mentioned. Thanks again.
The araldite wont last too long as its made to harden fast and not have a lot of strength, with the wood core you can use polyester resin instead of epoxy any way doesnt matter what the laminate is made of, pull the araldite off, drip in some polyester (mask off the area) and then use a clamp and some small blocks of wood to compress the damaged bit, you can use some plasic shopping bag between the board and the clamp / wood pieces, so it wont get stuck to the board.
