Ding Repairs

Dingfixing demystified Dinged stick is a particularly annoying condition... not only does it affect the ride, but it makes both you and your ride look deeply tatty and the poor innocent grom you want to flog it to next won't fork over as much. So it's got to be fixed... whether it was rocks, your mates, your ex, or airport security. follow these tips and you should be alright.

1. Assemble the toolbag
Your best bet is to get an actual ding repair kit from a surf shop, which'll have most everything you need in it. If for some reason you can't get one, head for a tool shop and get hold of:

Fiberglass resin filler (one that matches the colour of your board's foam)

Cleaning stuff to remove grot and wax (X-Wax etc.)

Small sheet of fine fibreglass (not the cheap s**t you use for cars)

Sandpaper: one rough bit, one fine or superfine (100grit+ or wet 'n' dry)

Sharp knife (razorblade, or sharp craft knife/stanley knife)

Thick piece of flat plastic/glass

2. Clean the wound
Kick off by carefully cleaning the ding itself and the area in a one-inch radius around it: all the dirt,wax,large steel spikes,whatever, have got to go. If there's any bits of fiberglass tissue flapping loose, amputate them carefully with your scalpel (craft knife,whatever...)

3. Preparation
Carefully sand the area for about 1/4 inch around the ding to make the just surface rough enough for your resin to 'take'. Make sure the ding's totally dry too.

4. The Healing (part I)
Mix your resin and filler powder(tip: if you ever see it, get Solarez or SunCure filler- don't need to mix it, just squeeze it in, flatten it off and park it in the sun). Make sure there's no bubbles when you pour it in. Park the thick bit of clear plastic on top to keep it flat. If it's exothermic resin, make sure it doesn't melt on!.

5. Bandaging
Cut a couple of pieces of fibreglass- one just a fraction bigger than the ding, the other about 1/4 inch bigger all around. Mix up some resin with no filler powder. Roughen the ends of the patches a little bit, then put the small patch over the hole, then the resin, then the bigger patch.

6. The Healing (part II)
Once the resin is completely dry, start sanding down the patches, using the rough (80-grit) paper. Sand it almost totally flat, but don't stray too far onto the area around the ding or it'll go soft. If there's a design on the board you want to fix up, now is the time. Then slap on another thin layer of resin.

7. Rebirth
Once the final coat of resin has dried, start sanding down the patches, using first the rough and then the finer sandpaper (pour on some water and finish with wet 'n' dry to get it totally silky and sacred.) Then take it to it's favourite break and promise you'll treat it good from now on!