Anyone else have problems with small paint bubbles in their carbon falcon? Less than a year old and little use, always washed in fresh water and stored indoors. Not impressed to say the least, contacting surf store this morning. Does anyone know what Fanatic's warranty is? Couldn't find on website...

has it ever been stored wet inside a board bag??
If so then the bubbles are from osmosis, and wont be covered by any warranty.

Not wet but damp after sitting on wet grass last week prior to being bagged. You'd think a craft designed to be wet could cope with that.... Makes choice of new board easier though, one less manufactuer to consider!

It is osmosis, www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Review/Fanatic-paint-job-problem/ and can happen on any painted or gelcoated board if kept in a damp place (in contact with 100% humid air, not water). Yes, these boards are designed to be wet, but not in damp air for long.

It happens also in boats: www.yachtsnet.co.uk/osmosis.htm

Also, never leave a wet board in a closed bag.

Had 6 Surftech boards since 1999, not once have I dried one before putting in cover, never a single problem..........interesting that the link above is also about a Fanatic board.

i had the same problem with my starboard boards no problem with the freerace,but happened to my k15,and coast runner no problem with my surf sup and no problem with my c4 waterman or any other surfboard i now leave the board bags un done.

I emailed Fanatic who described what had happened to my board, but hedged around warranty. Did not answer my second email. I guess it remains my problem. Moral of story? DO NOT BUY FANTIC PRODUCTS. I sure won't be again. Interestingly the bubbling is only on the clearcoated deck, not the brushed finished bottom......nothing worse than poor quality but expensive products.

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DaveBasher said..
I emailed Fanatic who described what had happened to my board, but hedged around warranty. Did not answer my second email. I guess it remains my problem. Moral of story? DO NOT BUY FANTIC PRODUCTS. I sure won't be again. Interestingly the bubbling is only on the clearcoated deck, not the brushed finished bottom......nothing worse than poor quality but expensive products.

Dont blame a brand for your ignorance. Everyone knows that you can't leave a gel coat SUP in a bag wet, any 'care for your board' article will tell you that! Premium brands are premium for a reason.

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DaveBasher said..
Not wet but damp after sitting on wet grass last week prior to being bagged. You'd think a craft designed to be wet could cope with that.... Makes choice of new board easier though, one less manufactuer to consider!

Funny how in this life there is always someone else to blame rather than taking responsibility for our own actions!! reading everyone else's comments it sounds like you are going to have very few boards to choose from next time you go to buy a board.

'Everyone knows you can't leave a gel coat SUP in a wet bag'.... I didn't, having been a surfer for almost 40 years and new to SUPing I had no idea- I do now though. As explained in earlier thread numerous surftech/GSI products I have owned have not suffered the same issues. Anyway, you live and learn- fortunately the bubbles don't affect performance as the lower brushed/matt section of board is fine. I don't believe the board is gel coat, but painted, but could be wrong....

hmmm ,see i find this topic interesting,see iv'e been riding jimmy lewis's for acouple of years now and just treat them like my short boards just chuck them into there covers then put them in the shed or down the side of house, sometimes they'd be forgotten about and be left in the board bag in rain hail and shine , hmmm this happens i fair bit at my place kids distracting little buggers, and I've got say , never had a problem with with bubbles , wrecked a goodbag, but the boards been fine??? maybe different manufacturers have different ways of finishing there boards, maybe I've just gotten lucky?? don't know ,but from what Iv'e seen so far there are just some brands I wouldn't touch

Yup, luck (or lack of it) plays a good part in delaminations, breakage in half, osmosis bubbles...

This said, some brands have more resistant finishes (paint, gelcoat) than others. I have seen ones that you couldn't peel a race number temporary sticker from them without removing the paint...

Yep I had the bubbles problem in my previous allwave (on the rail that was always at the bottom sitting in its rack), but I now wonder if it was more to do with the other problem - moisture inside the board (maybe just co-incidence?)....
Anyway, it's all history because Fanatic and Ocean Addicts where fantastic and came to the party providing a replacement lovely new allwave 9'1, which is truly awesome - so far anyway. Just need some proper surf to come back
ET

Yep, I have had 2 Fanatic boards, both of them have bubbled. I always wash and towel dry my boards before bagging them up. I also always leave the bags open in my shed for the boards to breathe. I'll be leaving red for yellow next time I think.....I'll never buy another fanatic.
As for the osmosis debate, osmosis is caused by the flow of liquid from an area of high salinity to low salinity, therefore by that argument, there must be moisture inside the boards.....

I currently have 14 SUPs. I have owned many more. I've only ever owned one Fanatic. Guess which is the only board that has bubbled...

I actually generally like the Fanatic construction. And I accept that all boards in certain conditions may do this. But there may be particular proneness that Fanatic have to this specific issue perhaps? It's not a serious issue, but if other brands don't do it nearly as much then it might be worth Fanatic looking into it.

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djgaffa said..
As for the osmosis debate, osmosis is caused by the flow of liquid from an area of high salinity to low salinity, therefore by that argument, there must be moisture inside the boards.....

Osmosis is water molecules finding their way into very small pores of a solid barrer.
Here the outer gelcoat/paint has enough micropores for the water/vapor to go under it, accumulate, and bubble up whith temperature changes.
The glassing is too thick to imagine water going through the whole glassing in such a short time.

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colas said..

djgaffa said..
As for the osmosis debate, osmosis is caused by the flow of liquid from an area of high salinity to low salinity, therefore by that argument, there must be moisture inside the boards.....

Osmosis is water molecules finding their way into very small pores of a solid barrer.
Here the outer gelcoat/paint has enough micropores for the water/vapor to go under it, accumulate, and bubble up whith temperature changes.
The glassing is too thick to imagine water going through the whole glassing in such a short time.

Nope.

Osmosis is the movement of water particles from an area where they are in high concentration to an area where they are in low concentration, through a semi-permeable membrane.

I don't see how it should make a difference whether the water is vapour (humidity) or liquid (eg a board floating in the sea). The water molecules are the same size regardless.

Water molecules move along a concentration gradient. Osmosis happens in the cells of organisms, when water is lost or gained, depending on the internal or external concentration of dissolved solute.

If osmosis is truly happening, then it should be possible to at least remove the water from the bubbles by leaving the board in a warm, dry environment for a couple of days.

I don't see why DaveBasher is getting red thumbed for asking the question.

In my opinion, a surfboard manufacturer should be using materials that don't allow water molecules to pass through.

Glad to hear Fanatic are honouring warranties by the sounds of things


Disclaimer: proud owner of an Allwave, don't keep it in a bag, its still hanging in there no worries (2012 model)

While Fanatic are looking into what paint they use, they might also look into their choice of deck grip adhesive: My Fanatic is also my only board that has suffered from bubbles under the deck pad. It's double bubble trouble with Fanatic...

Just got my hands on a used Jimmy Lewis Stun Gun. There must be over 100 bubbles in the red paint (no exaggeration). Emailed Jimmy Lewis directly hoping he stands by his boards. His boards are of the highest quality. I owned a 10'8 Hanalei board for about 5 years (bought it brand new). Never had one bubble and yes I did put it in a bag periodically wet for up to a week. A quality board / paint job shouldn't bubble - period.

A lot of osmosis is caused by poor manufacturing technique or conditions during manufacture )high humidity ) if the mat contains moisture expect it to come out some time

Your not the only one with issues if it's any consolation, While we are on fanatic paint issues I have just had a 2016 pro wave hrs in for repair that not only is the paint practically falling off but the joint allso has been very poorly done and cracking in a lot of areas. This was put through the normal procedure with regards to a warrantee but the factory (I belive this is a cobra one) came back saying they Recognised The problem of the dry fibers but only said they will do anything if the board snaps in the future and I would guess that has a 12mth window and the solution being to cover it with rail tape. I feel very sory for the people who purchased the board, the only consolation is the distributer is paying for the current cracks to be repaired and giving them some free rail tape to cover it up. I'm prity shocked to say the least! Like has been said most problems come from moisture and I expect this to be the case here and would probably make sence being that it was one of the first batch that was probably produced in Thailands rainy season when humidity is the highest.

Should the paint on a paddle board not be designed to with stand paddle strikes and if it can't perhaps it shouldn't be on there atall?

There is no justification for any bubbling on a board that is designed to go in the water, sorry!! As a consumer it would be reasonable expected that any water craft would be impervious to water damage unless the outer protective coating is damaged by the user. If there is no damage by the user then this should be a warranty claim without argument. Comments blaming a wet bag are rediculous to say the least and should cause no damage to a water craft, if the manufacture process allows this then it is the wrong process of manufacture and should be changed.

Dave......your an idiot.

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Wood Duck said..
Dave......your an idiot.

Wow, a key board hero?

All I am saying is that if you look at consumer law and the price you pay for a Fanatic board and there are no written warnings when you take delivery you would have an expectation that water or moisture would not do damage to something designed to get wet!

Fanatic are a repeat offender on this front. Over the years we've had repeated discussions about this phenomenon and although Fanatic boards are not the only ones that suffer from this, it is more often that brand rather than any other that is being reported. I have many boards by many brands, all stored in the same way and place, and it is only my Fanatic that is doing this. It doesn't only happen when a board is stored in a bag. So, if I were Fanatic, I'd be taking a good look at how my boards are being made for me at the Cobra factory, and ask how this could be happening.

In general, I think boards seem to be more fragile and temperamental compared to how they were in the early days of SUP. They are lighter and don't (usually) chip as much, for sure, but they are also more expensive, less durable, and the proportion of boards coming out of Cobra that are lemons doesn't seem to be improving. I wish there was a greater diversity of manufacturing plants. But of course several brands have tried switching their manufacturing away from Cobra, just to end up with supply and quality problems that have pretty much sunk the brand. Cobra will be one of the few places able to cope with the size of order that the larger brands will place.

I wish all boards were made in the factory that Jimmy Lewis uses (Vietnam I think , not Thailand like Cobra). They seem to know how to make a board that is reasonably light, very durable, with a good standard of finish and at a competitive price.

Still, at least the shonky work by Cobra means that purchasers are more likely to go custom. It's great to support your local businesses rather than some faceless corporation running a mega-factory halfway round the world. We just need more of them, and for greater awareness of these small businesses. For instance, if you live on Maui, why would you buy a SIC board made for them by a factory in Thailand, when you could buy one made by SIC Maui themselves on Maui? Elsewhere, there's a similar situation for DC boards and Joe Bark ones. I'll bet if you buy a board directly from these shapers it doesn't start bubbling if you store it in a bag.