This is my new board that got tossed into a curb by a 40 knot gust a few months ago.
Bottom right discoloration was what happened with the initial hit. Mid left, the little half moon bubble has just started a few weeks later. This is up at the nose of the board. Everything is still water tight. Is this something I should try to repair asap? Or let it go for a while? I'm not a board builder but am not opposed to DIY repairs if this is a good one to try.
can't tell from the photo, but the white bit seems to be foam showing through???? if so, yes definitely fix it before you get it wet again. If you've been riding it like that, then you probably have water in there and need to get that out.
Hi, I'll go against the post above. I don't think it's sucking in water. That looks like a bruise where the foam below got compressed slightly. Black rails show everything. I have a black rail Firewire, and they look cool but show everything!I'm obnoxious about aesthetics. So I would paint it to match at least. Otherwise it's an annoying repair because if there ANY delamination under there from the compression, you'd have to cut it out and re-laminate that area with carbon weave, coat a few times, hot coat, and paint. I doubt it'll keep getting worse, so at least sand it over a little and paint match black, then spray with matte clear to blend with the rest, so you won't have to look at it.
If problem B appeared all by itself after problem A happened a while ago, i'd say that warrants some further investigation.
I don't think it's taking on water, at least not yet. The white bubble isn't foam, but seems to be a tiny delam? It is raised and soft. Select to expand quoteSubsonic said..
If problem B appeared all by itself after problem A happened a while ago, i'd say that warrants some further investigation.
This is my larger concern. problem A was disappointing and I've been keeping an eye on it closely to see if it gets worse and now problem B has shown up. I simply don't know enough about how damage occurs and can or cannot propagate in boards.
Are you sure that the gel coat didnt crack when the rail bruise happened? My guess is that the same event that caused the rail bruise cracked the gel coat and now there is some minor delam happening around the crack. I wouldn't be overly concerned unless the area is flexy/squishy (which would tell me there is more going on), but I'd probably sand it out and at least paint some epoxy over it so that the delam doesn't propagate further. Seems cosmetic and I doubt there is anything structural going on. I also don't know anything about Sunova boards, and the construction and finishing could change the approach.
I'd open it up and see whats going on sooner rather than later. My mates windsurf board ballooned on the bottom, caused by a smaller delam about the size of a post it note. Theres a lot more volume in a windsurf board, but yeah. It only took some heat and 10 seconds and that was it for the board. He didn't know the delam was there, but it was evident when he cut the big delam away to see what had happened.
My standard practice is to put duct tape or a strong sticker over minor dings then get them professionally repaired when it's convenient.
Dings and stuff are easy enough to repair but getting a cosmetically perfect finish is difficult. It takes skill and specialist gear and colour matching and all the rest. It can get expensive if you're buying small batches of materials and tools to do a one off job.
Sunova? Firstly if it is, the rail is see thru black over biax carbon so repair to look good is very techy. same on deck with wood. Thus any DIY is probably going to look crap - no insult intended. If it's not taking on water I'd leave it.
is the bubble very thin though? Just paint bubble? If so I'd consider cutting it off with scalpel, solar resin then a sticker over it do it won't spread. That's the most I would do if I were you. I mean as a cheapie if you must fix something.
I have a Sunova DW board from last year, and my topcoat chips quite easy. It is waterproof, just doesnt look that nice.the seccond I see glass i use a bit of epoxi (not warm enoughh to use solarez at the moment).
Thanks for the input everyone.
I'm inclined to leave it be if it doesn't get worse. I kinda expected I might see a small change after a few sessions It doesn't seem to be taking on water, did a soapy water test too, no bubbles that I could see. I can tape it for extra security short term as well. I doubt I could do a beautiful repair under any circumstance so hearing that this is likely a challenge anyway makes me think I should leave it be. Probably wont get another session in with it until March so there's no rush to address it at the moment. I've got backup boards too if need be.
^^ agreed
As a pro board repairer both of those surfaces are the top 2 most challenging to get right.
Select to expand quoteJeroensurf said..
I have a Sunova DW board from last year, and my topcoat chips quite easy. It is waterproof, just doesnt look that nice.the seccond I see glass i use a bit of epoxi (not warm enoughh to use solarez at the moment).
I have done a ton of board and foil repairs (happy to share pics) and I think Jeroen has it exactly right. You've chipped the top coat and exposed the laminate. It also looks like there is a small crack emanating from the chipped top coat. If it was my board I would slighty scrape out the crack and fill that and the chip with some epoxy resin and microballoons / silica (to make a paste like mix). It is very hard to know if the board is leaking just from looking at it... it probably isn't but...It's 20 min fix and worth it for peace of mind.
No its has not necessarily. The OP is correct it has only chipped the clear coat. Putting white filler on it would look awful and devalue it greatly.. He's also used soapy water so if it isn't pushing out air it def isn't letting water in.
As I said, if it really needs sealing just solar resin would do. But he is sure it does not need sealing up.
I know the feeling of a stupid ding. Real ones that happen while riding don't hurt as much. I don't normally ride with a board leash. The other day in treacherous conditions, I put one on. Given I'm not used to it, at one point, on land, I had it attached to my harness and walked away, and drug the board a few inches over gravel putting a bunch of scratches on the rails. It's fixed now, but dang.
Select to expand quoteFoilWays said..
I know the feeling of a stupid ding. Real ones that happen while riding don't hurt as much. I don't normally ride with a board leash. The other day in treacherous conditions, I put one on. Given I'm not used to it, at one point, on land, I had it attached to my harness and walked away, and drug the board a few inches over gravel putting a bunch of scratches on the rails. It's fixed now, but dang.
You call that a stupid ding??? This is a stupid ding... Beach was going off, wind & great waves!!! Damn, I forgot my board leash. Noone had a spare. "Use a tiedown" someone said. "Hmmm Ok" I say unsure. I go out & have an insane session until booomph!! & a feeling of weightlessness in the water. See my board floating away & the leash plug still attached to the tiedown around my waist...
