DIY ~ Extending the life of a board with broken top concave

[likwidfolife]

So there's this particular board i like to ride, i love the shape and the edges the rocker etc. But for a long time i was reluctant to keep buying them because they didnt last very long. The top concave on them always seemed to split and it would break off and eventually become the demise of the board being ride-able.

Well i figured i would repair the board and make it last quite a bit longer.

I thought fiberglassing the concave and sidewalls would hold it together and keep it from splitting again.

I really like how it turned out so I just thought i would share it with everybody and show to do so. ~

First you'll need the board. (With the broken peice of top concave of course) You will need to remove all of the existing griptape on the board. If just muscled all mine off by ripping it. If your having trouble doing so a blowdryer or heat gun will help aid in the removal of the existing grip.



You'll need to buy some screws as well. Make sure you don't get anything over 3/4 inch because they tend go through all the way thru the bottom base of the board. I got 12 pitch because that was the largest I could find in 3/4 inch. the thicker the screws the more bite it will have to ensure fastening into the concave for extra reinforcement. I purchased these at lowes in the hardware section.



You will Also need a sheet of 3M fiberglass, they come in a single sheet packages. One sheet is good enough Cover the Whole Board.

You will need an Epoxy Resin and hardener kit as well. West Marine Sells a Marine grade kit that is eco-friendly but also a bit pricey. You can also get some that will also do a decent job at Lowes for a bit less.

Okay Moving on... - Next step would be to fasten the concave back onto the board with the 3/4 inch screws. I used 5 Screws total on the broken side and 3 on the still intact side to ensure it would stay put (also to possibly evenly distribute weight). I would not use more than 5. ideally if you do this before the concave completely comes of you could get away with just 2 on each side to cut down on added weight.






After fastening it down we got a belt sander and sanded the sidewalls of the board to give the epoxy a better surface to adhere to. We also sanded the top to knock down the gap as much as possible and remedy the change in shape after putting the concave back in place. But Since the concave completely broken off when fastening it back down it created at bit of an abrupt drop. We used some wood putty filler to fill the abrupt change in the concave so it is not as near noticeable.



After that is done it is time to mix up your epoxy resin and get to putting on the basecoat. Dribble some on the board in various places and then use a bondo spreader/spatula (these are sometimes included in the resin kits) to spread it around. Make sure you also get a good base coat of resin onto the sidewalls where the fiberglass matting is going to be layed down. We added some red dye to our epoxy to give it a custom look as well.



After Applying the basecoat of epoxy you can now lay down your Fiberglass sheet on the board. Make sure that it overlays your sidewalls and covers from nose to tail of you board.

Once its down you can work the basecoat of epoxy into the fiberglass getting it adhere to board. Be sure to work the wrinkles out of the fiberglass and see to it that it sits evenly. apply more expoxy to the top of the fiberglass working it in as well as the sidewalls too. Used the bondo spreader/spatula as needed for this. Also use your hands (with rubber disposable gloves of course) to work the resin into the fiberglass giving it a good even layer. When its done it should look something like this







Once that is done you can lay it outside in the sun the speed up the epoxy curing process



After a few hours it should be dry depending on how much hardener you used. If your mixing ratio was correct it should ready to trim away the excess Fiberglass near the base of the board,



Now get a fresh razor blade, fresh razors cut the best as always and trim the excess Matting away using a similar technique you would use to grip a skateboard/wakeskate with griptape. Another optional but good idea to do it sand down the edges of the board to flushen up where the glass meets the bottom ply so it does not have a sharp edge.

After that you will need to re-grip the top and it should be good to go!




* I also added a layer of epoxy to the base for durability. I will follow up with another post of some of the pics of it.

[Evan71]

that was cool, i like DIY board repair!

[jdarr]

Im guessing it was an impulse

[Slapdown]

Very nice! I love seeing people getting crafty with wakeskates. Really nice instructional man

[88skisupreme]

so how much does each screw weigh?

[adeguzman]

I had a Heritage that split like that in only a month. A few weeks later I saw GD at OWC and he fiber glasses his board before even using it.

[thatwasrad]

[ArcticSkate'n]

Looks like that thing is gonna hold up now!

One thing I would recommend is drilling a small pilot holes and use a countersink bit to let the screw heads sit a little below the top surface of the deck. You can fill over top of the screw heads with wood putty then resin/fiberglass...just a observation. Nice work man!

[likwidfolife]