Friday, December 17, 2010

Stand Up Paddle Board Ding Repair How-To

Hi Randall,

I've been enjoying that Hobie 12' ATR, for both surfing and flatwater, but last weekend while I had my board sitting on the grass, a gust of wind picked it up and threw it down on some rocks... ouch! There're a bunch of dings on it through the outer shell where I can almost see the softer stuff underneath. I've been reading all kinds of stuff on the Internet, but was wondering what you recommend as far as fixing it up. I don't care too much for aesthetics, but I want to make sure that the board is structurally sound and won't take on water. Any recommendations?

Thanks and happy holidays,
Lance

Hi Lance,

These dings are totally repairable and your Hobie will be as solid as ever. The core that’s visible just beneath the fiberglass is closed-cell and O.K. with a bit of water exposure. Still, make sure it's dry before patching.

Use a razor knife to cut away any glass that's loose. You need to actually enlarge the splits in the glass so you can get some repair resin in there and fill the hole. Also rough-sand the glass around the ding to recess for your repair build-up and so that the resin will stick. My favorite repair resin is Marine-Tex. It’s very available at marine shops or even the marine section or epoxy section of a hardware store. Marine-Tex is epoxy and white pigmented so color touch-up paint covers it well.

Mix the Marine-Tex at a 5 to 1 ratio (5 parts epoxy resin to 1 part hardener). Estimate the best you can but it's not too finicky. I use a rasp file to take down the initial build-up.  Then sand with wet sand paper at 220 then 320, 400 and finally 600.  For color, I use the auto touch-up paint that comes in the small bottles with a brush inside.

Aloha, 
Randall Barna

Find Ding Repair Supplies and Much More at www.StandUpPaddleFlatwater.com.

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