Board repair supplies

[swchandler]

What brand of epoxy did you use? Was it a 5 to 1 (epoxy to hardener) configuration, and did you use a slow hardener? With those bubbles in your first photo, it must have been a very hot batch. I've found that the filler used to thicken up the epoxy helps reduce concentrated heat, but I have to admit to not filling a cavity so deep in the past.

As far as painting goes, I have simply applied Krylon 1501 Glossy White. It's a reasonably good color match with the my Mike's Lab boards, but it's hardly a quality paint that lasts forever. Over time, I've found that it is susceptible to some scratching, but things are easy touched up if need be. When it comes to painting and doing an invisible flawless job, I will admit that I'm definitely not that accomplished or fussy. Good painting skills takes lots of practice.

[lturkevich]

I just repaired the nose of my board, here's what I did (courtesy of tips from BoardLady and U2U2U2 on this thread):

-epoxy w/ microballoons, fair w/ 120-150 grit when cured;
-touch-up with 3M Marine Putty, fair w/150-220 grit and apply pre-taped masking film;
-prime w/ Krylon Colormaster Plastic Primer;
-spray paint with closest color matching Krylon Colormaster
-wet sand with 400, 600, then 1200 grit (or until you're happy).

Things I learned:
-you'll need a lot more phenolic microballoons than you think for the fairing compound (add silica thickener so it won't sag on vertical surfaces)
-be VERY careful spraying the paint: I thought I was being careful and it still started to run.

[boardsurfr]

[pete1111]

Filling large holes with epoxy is a big nono. Epoxy tends to kick and heat up much faster when left in a cup or in your case filling a hole. You still need to glass over that mess otherwise one small hit and that chunk of epoxy is going to make an even bigger hole.

[boardsurfr]

Pete, I had done a test with a similar amount of epoxy in a cup. That looked fine - no bubbles of other sign of overheating. The large amount of filler that I had certainly helped, since I later saw overheating in leftovers when I used less filler.

The amount I put into the hole was probably a bit less than what worked fine in a cup. But the excellent heat insulation properties of the styrofoam around it let it get too hot, anyway!

I am quite aware that the epoxy plug may cause issues in future crashes. The board already had two nose repairs, and it seems there was an injection pretty close to the new damage. There was a long discussion about nose protection on the German forum; I remember the pictures of noses that had completely broken off after too much reinforcement during an earlier repair. It's possible that the "ding" was worse than previous dings because of the previous repairs.

I have glassed it over already, following your suggestions (3 layers, one of them for sanding). Then added a thin layer of epoxy to fill the pores, as the West Systems catalog suggests. Should be ready for painting tomorrow.

It's been killing me not being able to use the Skate. We had plenty of good wind days, and the 96 was a bit small some of these days, at least for doing freestyle. Has to happen when for once, we have lots of freestylers on the water - Mike, Chris, Freestyle Fred, Marty, Nina, and one or two more. Seeing so much stuff going on on the water motivates even me. Waiting for the second order of foam to arrive would have delayed repairs by another 5 days.

If the big chunk from the repair breaks off in the future, I'll re-build with foam. By then, I'll hopefully have the second Skate! Nevertheless, I am planning to experiment with self-made nose protectors (the "crush and replace" kind). The board is not exactly pretty anymore, anyway, so what do I have to loose?

[boardsurfr]

Almost done. Waiting for the paint to dry for a final round of sanding. Thanks for all the encouragement and suggestions. It was a fun project, and both my lovely wife and I are much less scared of nose dings now .

I'll have it in the van at the East Coast Windsurfing Festival Cape Cod on September 19-20 if anyone wants to have a closer look. Donations to help pay for Kiri Thode's ticket so he can be at the ECWF CC are still welcome!

[Trebor_HI]

Hi All, Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I'm making a very similar repair and have relied on this thread to a considerable extent for the planing stages.

Looks like my board (an old Naish Vector) is constructed from EPS foam encased in wood, fiberglass and paint. I'm assuming that I need to fill the void with some sort of material, then apply fiberglass with an admix of epoxy & slow hardener.

Going through all the replies to this thread I find that I'm still confused by the options for filling the void. That is should I use a mixture of epoxy & filler - or - some sort of pour foam (?) - or - purchase a piece of EPS or XPS foam and shape as required to fill the void.

[grantmac017]

I'd saw off the nose in a chisel shape, glue on a piece of ABS foam or balsa, round the edges then glass over it.

Trying to rebuild the original nose shape will be all pain for little gain.

[Trebor_HI]

Chisel Shape? Do you mean saw out a piece like so...more or less?

[grantmac017]

Straight across like the board in this thread:
https://iwindsurf.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=30452&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=08f0c28c1d41d0cd93f257ad63609cc0