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4 Ways to Repair Surfboard Damage on Your Own
How to self-repair surfboard damage?
We have listed the 4 most common ways to repair surfboard dings without taking it to a professional. Most minor nicks, dings and cracks can be repaired at home by you, DIY style. At any point, the ding repair is questionable of whether you will be able to repair it back into working order without sealing the damage from water or structural issues, take it to a pro. Here’s are list for top ways to DIY your surfboard repair.
1. Stickers or ding tape
In a pinch and without a repair kit, applying a sticker to the damaged area will help to stop water from entering your surfboard, adding unnecessary weight and eventually causing a delam. Having said that, stickers are not a guaranteed solution. If you are looking for an easy, lightweight solution for surfboard repair consider purchasing ding tape. Ding tape is made of marine grade material that is UV and water resistant which can be applied to polyester and epoxy surfboards.
- Joe Roper’s Surfboard Dingtape - Comes in precut pieces of varying sizes
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Clear Ding Tape - Comes in a single roll with 12 feet of tape
2. Ding putty (our preference)
Using a ding putty repair stick is a quick and easy to use fiberglass reinforced “dough-like” compound that cures in or out of the water. Perfect for travel or at home repairs and works great on both epoxy and polyester surfboards. Why we like it. Putty can be applied in three easy steps: pinch it (to activate compounds), knead it, smooth it and you’re back in the water. The extra benefit is that it doesn’t make a mess, it can be easily cleaned from your hands and surfaces after application and it can be sanded for a perfect finish.
- Ding-dough - almost all putty products are the same and simply rebranded, but here are two we have used and like
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FCS Ding Repair Putty - FCS is a trusted brand and can be found in most surf shops for a similar price as ding tape
3. UV sun cure
UV sun cures have traditionally been popular and somewhat easy to use. The two biggest mistakes people make when using a sun cure product are purchasing the product that matches your polyester or epoxy board construction. You don’t want to mix that up, but many novice surfers doing their own repairs do just that. The second common mistake is to apply the sun cure directly in the sun, allowing the resin to harden before you get a chance to shape and place the appropriate amount. Sun cure usually takes two to 15 minutes to set depending on how much the ding repair is exposed to the sun.
Two of the most popular UV sun cure are:
4. Traditional Ding Repair Kit
A traditional surfboard repair kit includes:
- resin
- hardener
- fiberglass cloth patch
- Q-Cell Filler
- sandpaper
- cups
- application tubes
- mixing sticks
- cover sheets
Just like with the sun cure products you need to match the ding repair kit with the matching material of your board, either polyester or epoxy. Because a hardener is used to activate the resin, it generally a longer repair process. The repair will usually take six to eight hours to completely harden before it’s ready to sand and finish. Most people that are traveling will use one of the above options to get back into the water quickly. Those who want more control of the glass, filler and general strength of the repair, will utilize the more manual process of a ding repair kit.
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Ding-all Repair Kit - is the goto repair kit for DIY repair jobs
For larger dings that impact the shape, fin alignment or structural integrity of the board it is worth taking your board to a professional repair shop to ensure that your board returns as close to like-new condition as possible. See our national list of surfboard ding repair specialist to connect with a professional near you.
If you’re not feeling secure with DIY surfboard repair and want to protect yourself from out-of-pocket expenses when the time comes to repair your board, make sure to add a surfboard protection plan the next time you purchase a new surfboard.
