Hi all - even with the thread a few below this I cannot decide what method to use to repair this rail crack on my board - whether I can just use styrene brushed in and then hot coat over the top or if I need to start thinking about a glass patch…
not even joking - the cat clawed at the board sock and pulled the board over and the rail landed on a wardrobe… surfed the darn thing five times at my local reef break and it was still immaculate!!
for context you can’t even feel this if you run your hand over it but I want to make sure it’s watertight. Many thanks,
Sand it and clean it up. Don’t sand through, just sand until most of the broken glass is gone. Then wipe with styrene and let dry completely. Put a 4oz cloth patch over it. Hotcoat and sand. Spray with a rattle can of clear.
I always keep a yard or two of 1.5 oz E cloth on hand for these type of very minor repairs. The stuff is super thin but very strong. Perfect for dealing with small shatters. Sand it out. Brush on thinned resin. Place 1.5oz cloth into resin and use a brush to get a very good resin to cloth ratio. Hotcoat and sand smooth. Most “surf supply” places don’t carry it but good fiberglass suppliers do as do hobby shops that cater to the RC Aircraft crowd.
+1. Even cracks in a gloss coat will eventually weep water. Now if it’s a “high performance” board…
Those things are kind of “designed” to break before something that small will become a problem. I don’t fix anything that doesn’t compromise the structural integrity of my 4x4 oz glassing schedule on a shortboard, and even then I do just enough to sell it to the sucker who doesn’t reallize that it was a piece of sh:t the day I picked it up from the factory.
Thanks for the advice all - think I have a plan now.
yeah where I live I can’t find that ultra fine glass in the marine stores etc but I hadn’t thought to try the hobby shop. Will give that a go because it also looks like good glass to put decals under.
i guess why I have always been reluctant to put a glass patch on minor repairs is because I’m worried the patch will stand proud from the rest of the surface, creating a bulge - I guess if you sand in to the board enough first then the patch should sit flush once it’s been hotcoated and sanded?
before I started building boards I only ever used that sun cure fibre filled stuf for repairs so I’m basically new to doing repairs properly… Thanks again for your help.
I wouldn’t worry about trying to get a patch perfectly even with the old glass. I’d rather have a slight bulge (a mm or less) that’s blended and smooth that I know is watertight than something weakened cause I sanded too much away. If you blend in the bulge, you’ll hardly see/feel the patch.
Fiberglass Supply has always carried light cloth. Their online catalog currently lists .75 oz, 1.4 oz, and 2,1 oz. Along with the more common weights, of course.
