Crazy paddle last night on the bay just out from the Patterson river mouth...was on the ace, not the board to be on in those conditions. Surfable short messy waves from all directions including side on boat wake = lots of carnage. Had a heap of fun, managed to stay up and caught some waves. Heath showed up out there too which made me look even worse...he made it look easy on his nsp dc 12'6.
Downside was I discovered this afterwards...must of hit with the paddle. Front of the ace is starting to look like a patchwork. Had OKE fix it last time. Did a great job. Not fussed now wat it looks like.. Not selling it in a hurry and can see myself keeping it for a long time. Any tips on repairing it myself cheaply. It is the carbon version...
Cheers
I use West Systems epoxy mixed with micro balloons into a gooey paste. Cut away all the damaged carbon fibre and sand the edges and the EPS (polystyrene) and then put the filler in there. Wait for it to dry and sand it to smooth. Ideally then cover with a layer or two of carbon fibre cloth.
You'll find you spend a bit more than a visit to Oke, but you will have the gear available for future repairs.
Will water have soaked in or is the foam sealed. Does it need to dry out or be drained in any way...
Cheers
Most important advice on board repairs - make sure you are not using a polyester resin - it will melt the polystyrene. Also, when using epoxy resin like West Systems, use the slow hardener, and don't do it in sunlight at the hottest part of the day. The curing process also know as "exotherm" can react and produce extreme heat, which will also melt the polystyrene. That's also more likely to occur if the resin is applied too thickly, for instance with a deep hole.
I agree with PTWoody, also if the hole is deemed big enough a (leftover) piece of foam can be glued in and reshaped so as to avoid a big exothermic blob of resin and the weight that comes with it
Ended up using Sellys knead it aqua.... Sounds similar. Sticky and sets hard. Came up really well. Undercut the foam a little around the hole and pushed the putty right under there so it won't falls out. Was very sticky though. Trying to upload pics but doesn't seem to want to work.
Cheers
Just filling in some gaps here (so to speak) :
PT's on the money - west system & micro balloons.
The reason to use epoxy and micro balloons is that it creates a filler that is softer to sand than the carbon / glass that the board is made of. If you use (say) araldite or some non marine bog you'll end up with the repair surface being harder than the board's skin. So you'll end up being unable to properly sand the repair without damaging the area of the board around it.
AB if you need materials down that way go see Tim at Quarterdeck Marine in Seaford. For others further north you can get materials at Anchor Marine, next to SHQ. Just remember to take a bucket of money if you go there...
Re carbon fibre - Carbon doesn't like bending, so for rail repairs you don't need the exact weight of cloth the board is made from (eg 4 oz.). You can use (say) 2 oz. for a small repair, or two layers of 2 oz. For that repair of yours you probably could have left the damaged carbon there and just filled over it after cleaning up the ragged edges.
To fill the weave after a layer of carbon use a mix of epoxy & micro balloons again, or if you can get some "peel ply", lay this on when the epoxy is still wet. "Peel ply" is basically just taffeta fabric, and smoothes out the epoxy to a smooth surface that's more easily sanded.
Re sandpaper - wet and dry only. It doesn't scratch as much as dry sanding. Start with 180 if you've done a lousy job filling, then work down to 360, 600 etc etc.
If you want to learn to fix dings properly read this!
boardlady.com/
That putty crap is OK for a quick patch job
Some other tips for your repair..
Wear a face mask and gloves when sanding and using resin
Put talcum / baby powder onto your forearms to minise the itch that sanding carbon gives
Try cling wrap instead of peel ply, put it on after you finish the repair. It allows you to smooth off the resin and gives a great finish that's easy to sand. Try a small area first to see that your resin doesn't dissolve the cling wrap - mine never has..
Armine blush is released after the resin goes off with most resins, give the repair a light sand before applying more resin..
Good luck...
