I got my first hardboard, Starboard Generation Carbon Top. I tried applying rail tape and that was a massive fail, despite watching tons of videos on how to apply properly. Ugh! So, I just removed it immediately. It didn't cause major damage to the paint work except for one tiny chip about a 1/4 size of my pinky finger. Probably something so minor I should just get over it.

I'm not a DIY guy. The most I do around the house is hang pictures and paint walls, sometimes hang the pictures to hide where I messed up painting the walls! If I did want to attempt to fix this myself, what should I do? Just a bit of touch up paint? How best to blend in the finish? And where do I go for paint and a color match?

I'm in the UK and most of the surf/sup shops are miles away on the opposite coast, so I'll have to mail order any supplies.

Thanks in advance!

Just leave it as is. That mark is tiny. You will get more small marks in your board over time.Tape your paddle instead. Do a search on Seabreeze, as DJ did a post on how to tape your paddle using NITTO brand electrical tape. Doing it this way, if you mess up applying the tape, you won't do any damage to the paddle and you can do it as many times as you need to get it right. Once on, you only need to redo it once a year or so as you will get small cuts in the tape.

Or tape your paddle using RS Pro paddle tape.

Aaron.

+1 with ARichards, except that I use 3M helicopter tape (8671HS): much more efficient and more durable than electrical tape, and cheaper than RSPro paddle tape.
www.3m.co.uk/3M/en_GB/p/d/b40069157/

Put a sticker over it, you will soon forget.

Agree with all the above but also I will add - don't even think about painting it.
That is impossible to paint without a proper spraygun as it needs to be faded out properly - you can't sand a matte finish like the DIY car videos show you to blend with sanding. It would be more obvious after all that stuff around. At least its same colour underneath and tiny

Just leave it as is.

You are bound to get a few more and if you ever get a ding get it fixed then.

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wazza66 said..
Just leave it as is.

You are bound to get a few more and if you ever get a ding get it fixed then.

Yes try to "fgetaboutit". Now when you get a real ding you won't be quite as freaked out by it. I remember reading about someone that takes a hammer and whacks a new board so that he doesn't worry about small dings and scratches. Have fun!Bob