| There was a time when surfboards were made of | | | | ding is deep some foam filler is good to keep the |
| wood and the surf spot line ups were empty. From | | | | repair light. |
| those days forward surfboard builders went in search | | | | Then Working in the shade: Clean, dry and lightly |
| of lighter materials to improve the performance. The | | | | rough up with sand paper the surrounding repair area. |
| answers came in the form of polyester resin that | | | | Apply a filler if needed and allow to harden before |
| originally hardened in the sun but later was modified | | | | applying the final coat. If fiberglass cloth is needed |
| to a catalyst in order to control the process of | | | | apply a light precoat of resin, then the fiberglass. |
| hardening better. | | | | Then thoroughly apply resin to saturate the cloth |
| Today not too much has changed in the mainstream | | | | filling the ding to original volume. |
| of surfing although new resins and core foams have | | | | Some things to consider If you are using sun |
| entered the scene, many people agree there is no | | | | activated resin it's best to work in the shade and |
| reasonably priced alternative which means it looks like | | | | then move the repair to the sun for hardening. |
| good ol polyester resin will be around awhile longer. | | | | A helpful trick of the trade is included in many repair |
| When it comes to fixing your surfboard the basic | | | | kits - clear plastic! When the final layer of resin is in |
| elements remain the same too. Strangely enough | | | | place the plastic is layered over it firmly to smooth |
| resins were originally Sun powered and in the past | | | | the resin during the hardening process! Smoothy |
| few years it made a comeback in the repair world. I | | | | sheets can save you from extra sanding since they |
| prefer it for the simplicity factor and that it eliminates | | | | often result in a perfect finish! I recently came across |
| that nasty catalyst necessary to harden conventional | | | | a repair kit that has all the goods needed to get |
| resin. | | | | results like I mentioned above. It's called Phix Doctor, |
| Here is what you need to fix your board: | | | | but what I liked most about it was that it uses earth |
| Resin: Sun activated type when possible 100 grit | | | | friendly packaging resulting in 80% less CO2 |
| Sandpaper, just enough to rough up the area and | | | | emissions than conventional repair kits. This means |
| remove any loose particles fiberglass cloth to cover | | | | Surfboard repairs have gotten easier thanks to sun |
| dings bigger than half inch or 1.25 centimeters. If the | | | | powered resin and earth friendlier too! |