EPOXY SURFBOARD REPAIRS: Almost all you need to know

Covering some frequently asked Epoxy questions today and going over a pretty simple repair, some tricks and tips as well as some brand comparison. --------------------------------------------
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[@awai5600]

Thanks for this vid. I always learn a couple of key lessons watching them! I hope you get to 1,000!!

[@smallkinedings]

Pleasure man, glad they are helpful! Almost 2,000 now! Nearly enough to release my own crypto token 😂

[@YonaMyers]

Hey brother! absolutely outstanding videos, each and every time.. congrats! seriously, probably watched every ding repair video out there and none are clear and informational as yours:) been goofing around with repairs for a while but the past year or so been trying to boost up my game- and would love your advice on what seems to be my Achilles heel- I seem to have all steps pretty much nailed (although much more experience is required of course), all the way to the step where i have poured my hot coat and left with that nice shiny rectangle when its cured. Here, i seem to keep running into trouble- and no matter how carful and delicate i try to be, many times i end up with blemish/some visible marks where the outline edges where.. Watching a few of your vids, I would love if you could clarify the method you use to approach the hot coat sanding- do you first hit the harder edges (outline) with 120, and then go over the whole thing with 220, 300 etc- or do you first go over it all with 220, 300 etc until the edges eventually disappear? And, is there a difference if your doing poly/epoxy? Also I tend to think part of the problem is in my sander- im using a single speed, 1200 rpm random orbital sander (with and without a velcrow softpad)- and in my mind a variable speed sander would make a difference here too- what do you think?? Thanx so much in advance and please keep up the great work!!!

[@1001Bull]

Thank you for the video! Just got myself a first surfboard for cheap with a couple dings, planning to fix it up by myself using your tips. Realized that a lot of epoxy coats and sanding are awaiting me so buckling up for some repair action!

[@smallkinedings]

Unreal! Best of luck with it and enjoy the process! Remember, anything you do is reversible so no stress if the 1st attempts don't go to plan!

[@1001Bull]

@@smallkinedings Thank you for the kind words!

[@danvargo9075]

Great video and explanation 🤙

[@smallkinedings]

Cheers man, hope it's of some help!

[@abdelkaderyousfi397]

Hi Thanks a lot for all the advices I learnt a lot by watcing you doing some repairs Following all you steps And i’m happy with the result Now i have to improve And doing more And more repairs To may be one day shape my Own board For small amont of résine i use medical syringe 💉 Keep sharing 😍😍😍

[@smallkinedings]

Great stuff man, stoked to hear it's been useful for you!

[@mickduprez9598]

good stuff! I've had the same issue mixing small amounts from the bottle. Next time you buy some squeeze type (matserfoods I think) tomato/bbq/etc sauce, grab the cap of it an use it on the hardener bottle, they fit well ;) Just got some Surfset epoxy and it's quite good to work with so far, just lam'd a board and about to fill coat, will see how it sands, cheers. I've also seen the kitchen top epoxy people use metho in a spray bottle to disperse bubbles in top coats, just the lightest of mists breaks the surface tension. I use it for clean up too and it's working out ok so far, even for brushes but I haven't done a gloss coat with used brush just yet.

[@smallkinedings]

Solid advice, cheers for that! Will definitely grab some sauce bottle tops tomorrow, that's genius!

[@milospotuzak3251]

Nice vid full of usefull infos as usual. If may I suggest, with epoxy it is far better to not use acetone, but denaturated alcohol only. it is not that toxical and works very well. Also if you can get your hands on Sicomin SurfClear epoxy down in NZ, get it. It is a French product and it is freaking good stuff. They also provide two additives. One is a fastener which drasticaly fastens the curring time so it allows me to do both sides of repairs, or even coats in one day, the second additive is a thinner which helps self leveled the coats and also helps with sanding. cheers! P.S. sorry for commenting on more then a year old vid, but as I am going thru your brilliant vids I love to share some of my experiences..

[@smallkinedings]

Denatured alcohol is good stuff, certainly a lot gentler than acetone. We don't get sicomin unfortunately, a lot of good epoxies we can't access here. I like the thought of an additive to speed up curing though, might look into that and see if I can get some sent over here. The other stuff sounds like what we call "additive F" which we can get from "shapers" in aussie. I generally stick with entropy resin though and that stuff naturally flows like glass so I've never needed additive F. Next time I'm stuck with Kinetix I'll definitely be ordering it though though!

[@milospotuzak3251]

@@smallkinedings well the additive F is different stuff I think. The additive for Sicomin is an epoxy thinner, chemicaly different to additive F as I remember correctly. I checked it and Sicomin should have supplier in OZ… so you can have a look on Sicomin SurfClear epoxy and fast hardener over there :) 🤘🤘

[@surfinmaldives]

Use a small wide mouth plastic container to store the resin in small quantities and use a syringe to draw the amount needed. Works well for me. 🤙🏾

[@smallkinedings]

Solid suggestions!

[@michelebursi3312]

thanks for the video! I am shaping my first board and at deck lamination (Epoxy) one of my tail cuts didn't wrap up nicely and I got a couple of bubbles. How do you suggest to fix that?

[@smallkinedings]

Hey hey, always tricky down by the tail! The good thing about epoxy is once it's cured you can sand it so your next step is sanding your dodgy area to shape and you may have to patch the area if you end up exposing some foam.

[@michelebursi3312]

@@smallkinedings thank you very much!

[@maxnuccio2440]

🤦🏻‍♂️ me as you listed off my exact environment. Humid, dusty shed, finger oil all over board, cleaned with alcohol 😂 needless to say I struggle with epoxy repair

[@smallkinedings]

😂 😂 she require some OCDness the ol epoxy

[@dudeleboski2692]

I use a pair of high accuracy digital scales for both parts of Epoxy

[@smallkinedings]

Yup critical to have. I use them on the bigger jobs

[@user-qj2wp7xg4z]

I use kinetix laminating... and for filler(hot) coats i find mixing 3% wax-in-styrene is a MUST to get a finish that flattens out with no fisheyes. Without the wax-in-styrene I get fish eyes, I get dry spots where the resin won't flatten out.

[@smallkinedings]

I have heard of adding styrene, never sampled it myself. This time of year it's so hot here it make the resin pour so nice! Might try the styrene when it's winter again, get some more flow!

[@dudeleboski2692]

I count to 150, then change mixing vessel as well as stiring stick.

[@michaeldill7620]

It’s the fluorescent lights. Also what do you use to clean? Also have you ever used heat to eliminate bubbles? Thanks great stuff

[@smallkinedings]

The light are LEDs, it’s all about shutter speed! Depends what I’m cleaning. Boards is use compressed air, towels and degreaser for wax and stickers. Resin I use a dry clean rag and for really messy jobs, acetone. For my floor, a broom and a vacuum 😉 Heat is good for dispelling air bubbles in cast resin which is poured at depth, up to 2inches thick sometimes. I’ve never tried it with the kinetic resin, usually after mixing I just let it sit for 5 minutes and the bubbles will all disappear from the pot and then you’re good to pour 🤙

[@michaeldill7620]

@@smallkinedings 🙏🏽🤙🏾

[@michaeldill7620]

@@smallkinedings 🙏🏽🤙🏾

[@1001Bull]

Hi! I am rewatching this video having just dinged by EPS/epoxy board :( I haven’t noticed the ding on time and rode the board for another hour or two before realizing. An honest question: how would you check if the water has entered the board and if so, how would you get rid of it? I watched all videos in the recent year but can’t quite remember which one may have discussed the topic. I would greatly appreciate your advice!

[@smallkinedings]

Gday Bud! I would open the ding up a little to expose some foam (if it’s not already exposed). Leave it for a couple of days and then give the foam a squeeze/squash with something that will show if there’s any water inside. Even something like a flat head screw driver, just push on the foam a little and see if your screw driver comes out wet. That said, I’m assuming your ding is bad enough for you to assume there is likely some water inside. The easy answer is just open it up a little, leave it to drain and just keep checking back every day or so. If it’s just a crack in the glass but you cant see any foam, I’d just go ahead with the repair 🤙

[@1001Bull]

@@smallkinedings Thank you very much for your kind advice! I will do just that. As no foam is showing I am hoping I am just paranoid about my first ever ding after fixing the board (I think I even talk about it in one of the comments below). Have a good one and looking forward to the future videos!

[@DG-ld4rw]

Hey mate! Good job! Why don't you fill the cracks with some micro balloons also? Don't you think that could have made a stronger repairs? Instead of only resin? And another questions, I have been fixing surfboards of my homies for a few month, and I notice that sometimes the edge of my hot coat are still visible, slightly but still. Especially when I look at them under a light on a particular angle. And I can also slightly feel it with my fingers (but not all the time). Do you think I am not sanding enough? I am often worry of sanding it too much on the old resin, that is why I maybe don't sand it enough. Or is it acceptable for you if there is a slight edge? Or does it have to disappear completly? Thanks for your channel, it has been very helpfull so far! Greetings from France!

[@smallkinedings]

Bonjour! Micro balloons don't add strength to resin, they only add density without weight. This repair wasn't large enough that weight was of concern and I'm not a big fan of bright white repairs on slightly yellowed boards, I'd rather gone it the clear. In regards to your resin edges its quite common, I would say you aren't going hard enough on your 120 and 240 stages on the edge of that resin. You're right though, you don't want to remove the original resin from around your repair. It's a delicate balance. It kind of depends on what sort of board you're working on but sometimes another thin coat of resin after your 120 sand makes for a better and easier final sand. That depends if you want to spend the extra money and time on that particular board though. Glad the videos have been of use man!

[@torbsteyn]

HI there, I've got a ding in my epoxy board and am planning to repair it myself, do I need any sort of final coats over the resin to prevent sun damage? How do I prevent the epoxy from going yellow overtime with sun exposure?

[@smallkinedings]

I used to know a Norwegian named Torbjorn, one of the funniest guys I've ever met! So it depends on what kind of Epoxy you're using. Steer clear of boat epoxys like west systems as they dont contain uv inhibitors so will yellow over time (actually quite quickly). Surfboard epoxies are designed to be uv proof and have different flex characteristics to other epoxies so that's what you need to track down. They don't require any finishing products after final sand and polish.

[@dudeleboski2692]

Do you use Independent/ Seperated Acetone Baths for both Epoxy and Polyester?

[@smallkinedings]

I rarely actually use Acetone. I don't use it at all on poly repairs and I only use it with Epoxy when I am using the Kinetix. If I'm cleaning squeegees I generally just wipe them down with a clean rag at the end and for resin coats, I normally pour about 5 boards at a time so one chip brush gets 5 boards on average done and then I bin it.

[@dnomyarnostaw]

The high viscosity epoxy that bubbles when mixing, warm it with a hair dryer first, and even after mixing. The bubbles should clear. I've even gotten rid of bubbles after laying it up. Re flickering, are you using fluorescent tube lights ? Edit . Do you not need a coating to protect the epoxy from uv damage? Good presentation :-)

[@smallkinedings]

Heat certainly cures the airbubbles for sure. I'd rather not do that extra step though if I don't have to. Nah, the lights are LEDs, apparently it's the relationship between the frames per second and the ampage(?) Of the lights which blew my mind a little. Both of these epoxies are surfboard specific resins which have uv inhibitors in them. They come in either ultra clear (the ones I use) or ultra bright (which have uv brighterners in them as well as inhibitors). They are very uv resistant but you pay for that privilege withbthe cost being at least double than that of a standard marine epoxy like west systems

[@dnomyarnostaw]

@@smallkinedings Yes, I priced special clear resins for my Kayaks, and decided that I didn't really want a perfect finish :-) Never heard of those brands in Tassie, but not a big surfboard industry here.

[@smallkinedings]

@@dnomyarnostaw surfboard studio in victoria and shapers in NSW are probably where all the tassie shapers are buying most of their shaping supplies. My resins all come from composite specialists though, not necessarily surfboard manufacturing suppliers

[@alexChomygod]

Do you use the same resin mixture when layering on the fiberglass at 8:20 ?

[@smallkinedings]

Yup, all the stages are the same resin in this one

[@manuelmarques5669]

Give a try to RR Kwik Kick, faster setting time i ever find. Very useful for ding repairs

[@smallkinedings]

How long are you waiting before sanding for the next step with resin research?

[@manuelmarques5669]

@@smallkinedings I use mainly in hotcoat once it is thicker and stronger than other epoxy i have tested (RR 2100 and Sicomin), leave it overnight it is not a problem. I would say that for ding repair, it could be done in 3-4h at the proper room temperature (additive F may help also in the sanding part)

[@smallkinedings]

@@manuelmarques5669 ahh yup, sounds similar to what I'm using curing wise. I usually pour all my epoxy jobs as the last job of the day so they all get the overnight treatment. If I'm in a real rush, I can pour first thing in the AM and sand and pour before I leave in the evening.

[@Grannievore]

I have sanded down my old BIC epoxy board, gave it a new paint job, and now I’m wondering…do I put a coat of epoxy on the whole thing, cure it, then put fiberglass down, and epoxy that twice? Since I live in TN now, this board is just my beloved conversation piece in our house. I hope to take it to the beach again and teach my grandkids to surf on it though soon. Can you help this old lady with some additional advice?

[@smallkinedings]

Gday grannie, Now thatbthe board is painted I wouldn't be putting any epoxy over it. The immediate question that popped to my mind is, are you sure it's epoxy? BIC boards are traditionally a hard plastic which epoxy struggles to adhere to. Either way though, my advice would be not to mess around with epoxy over paint, it's more often than not a can of worms waiting to be unleashed. Feel free to send me some photos on Facebook or instagram if you like and I might be able to help further. 🤙

[@allsurf]

Doing my first epoxy repair. I’m finding that there are so many down sides to epoxy. There’s still water in the foam after 2 weeks! I’m a big fan of color matching so my plan is to hot coat, color match with acrylic paint, and then spray some clear. Is that a good plan? 🤙🏼

[@smallkinedings]

Eps is the biggest pain in the ass. Rubbish product that loves to hold water! Often times I end up just cutting out the wet foam and replacing it Your painting schedule sounds on point! 🤙

[@allsurf]

Thanks@@smallkinedings . I honestly don't see that many qualities about it that make it preferable other than light weight. I'm not convinced that it's stronger judging by what happened to this board.

[@smallkinedings]

@@allsurf depends on what part of the boards build you focus on. Epoxy resin on its own has some superior qualities to poly, though most of those are more useful in something like boat building. EPS foam on the other hand, I struggle to think of a worse material to make surfcraft of any kind from. It's light for sure, but that's because it's lack of density and porous qualities. Neither of which I think are good qualities to build from. Epoxy over PU foam I think is a great construction type and there should be (and im sure will be) more boards made this way.

[@user-fv9bz5lf3m]

Excuse me, when I applied the last coat of hot coat, there were many holes while I was waiting for it to dry. Is it because of the dusty Kansai?

[@smallkinedings]

Gday mate! One of the problems with epoxy is that your "holes" could be caused by a tonne of different things. It could be dust, grease from your hands, humidity in the room while drying, amine blushing to name a few. If you want, send me a photo on instagram and I can try and help you narrow it down

[@user-fv9bz5lf3m]

@@smallkinedings Thank you so much for your reply, I am a surfer in Taiwan, and I am learning how to repair surfboards recently, thank you for sharing so much knowledge about repairing surfboards! I'll send you another photo, thank you

[@mickduprez9598]

@@user-fv9bz5lf3m be careful using compressed air too, make sure you use an inline filter as water and oil from the compressor can be in the lines ;)

[@user-fv9bz5lf3m]

@@mickduprez9598 Thanks for reminding me

[@joshable1]

Maybe I'm missing something what are you using to clean it with? You say not acetone, just air and towel?

[@smallkinedings]

Yup just air compressor and a towel (clean rag). Blow, wipe, blow is my mantra (insert how I met your mother joke here). The only time I use any thinner is if the board has say, been stored under a shed for 10 years and is covered in grease and grime. I'll always sand it thoroughly after using thinners though and then just blow, wipe, blow before any resin work.

[@SuperNova-Steve]

Thanks for the vid very helpful and well produced. Make sure you go pro is set to 50Hz. I assume you’re in Aus or NZ. North America operates on 60Hz so Go Pros are default set to that. Aus and NZ, England etc 50Hz. Once set of 50Hz choose 25fps or multiples there of and you shouldn’t get flicker. If this doesn’t work change lights to LED. 5600K (Day Light) for Workshop Zones 3200K (Warm Light) for chill out zones. Cheers

[@smallkinedings]

Yes, on going problem with this camera which I'm starting to amend. Light are all LEDs but unfortunately can't change the FPS on my model of gopro

[@SuperNova-Steve]

I have a GoPro 4 and 8, can be done on both of those. On 8 quite hidden in the menu. Hz first then frame rate.

[@dmac5678]

I’m getting air bubbles Everytime when I’m using resin research quik kik epoxy system. I’m keeping the board room temperature, trying to mix slowly, how can I avoid these dreaded air bubbles?

[@smallkinedings]

When you say airbubbles, do you mean airbubbles in your fibreglass cloth or airbubbles in your resin coats? If it is inbyour reain coats, is it small bubbles embedded in your resin or fish eyes where the resin is kind of pushing itself away from the surface?

[@dmac5678]

@@smallkinedings air bubbles in the qcell/epoxy mix. When it is curing it’s gassing or making bubbles.

[@smallkinedings]

@@dmac5678 ahhh yup! Pain in the ass that EPS! Falling temprature can help, I always pour my epoxy jobs last thing before I go home to get that dropping temprature. A thicker mix can help as it makes it harder for the air to push through but sadly it's just a part of working with EPS. Depending what you're trying to fill (not filling big voids with it) you could try and do a really tight skim on your first coat just to seal it, rough sand when it's cured then do your pour or lamination. You could also use spackle for this if you are only smoothing out the foam before lamination.

[@dmac5678]

@@smallkinedings You the man! My resin research brand epoxy is hard to sand. Do you use additive f at all or something similiar to what a wax in sytrene does for polyester resin to make it easier to sand?

[@smallkinedings]

@@dmac5678 nah I don't use additive F, although I have heard good things. Ideally, I don't wanna be adding anything else to epoxy as it's just setting things up for failure. Additive F is fine of course but things like styrene and thinners I avoid. Even too much resin tint can throw off the 2:1 ratio and cause dramas. With epoxy being as gawd dam sensitive and fussy as my X, I try and just keep it simple. How is your resin hard to sand, gummy?

[@damiencollins8124]

What’s the cure time for say a creased board before you’d recommend surfing it?

[@smallkinedings]

Technically with epoxy it's a week or two for the resin to fully cure. A little less with poly. Try tell a customer they can't surf their board for 10 to 14 days after they've picked it up though 😂

[@liambermingham624]

More then pretty soar that would or rocked old bud

[@smallkinedings]

Let's just say, ambulances we're called

[@MultiBmorgan]

if your epileptic bahahaha...sorry to anyone who is dealing with that.but it made me laugh

[@smallkinedings]

Haha, had to rewatch to remember what I said! You had me worried I was mocking people with epilepsy 😆

[@salty-pete]

No need to change your camera, change your lights. It looks like you are using flouros, that causes the flickering. LED lights are OK or make up some "Soft Boxes" instructions on You Tube.

[@smallkinedings]

All my lights are LED

[@salty-pete]

@@smallkinedings Sorry, it looked like a flouro I could see in the background. Anyway thanks for the tips on repairs about to have a go myself. It's like a tear in the top sheet.

[@smallkinedings]

@@salty-pete thats OK! Never knew frame rate and voltages were linked! O nice, good luck and let me know how you get on!