hey guys
only just got my new board a few weeks ago but already managed to "break" it. climbing out of the surf i got knocked over on a bit of reef and dropped my board TWICE! now ive got a few puncture holes in the bottom of the board and was just wondering if i should fix it up myself or if i should get it done professionally. considering im a bit short on cash id prefer option one. ive already got some of the crystal clear epoxy araldite which i was thinking might just do the job. I know from previous work ive done with it that if you put a bit more hardner in the mixture the glue will be a little more flexible when dry.
the holes are only puncture holes bout 1 cm in diameter and 0.5 cm deep.
what do you guys think? how much would a professional job cost?
cheers

More hardener = brittle. It should be easy enough to fix yourself just clean out all the loose crap before you fill it. Better using epoxy with a pigment if you want it to look ok in the long run. if it's a poly board use polyester resin, it doesn't yellow off as quick as the epoxy from UV.
Just fill the hole and tape an overhead projector sheet over it this will reduce the ammount of sanding required.

Do it yourself...

But DO NOT use araldite on a new board - it will look terrible... and, sorry you are wrong about the hardener - the more you put in the quicker it sets, and the more brittle it becomes. Put too much in and it will crack at the edges and let water in.

Shop ding repairs can be anywhere from $40 per ding up. Personally, I've been fixing my own dings since I was 14yo...

I would go and get some proper resin and catalyst (hardner), some white pigment (presuming your board is clear finished on a white blank) and an eye dropper for measuring the catalyst. Do a test mix and check both colour and set time. Note: You only need a tiny bit of pigment - and any pigment slows the setting time. If your resin is setting in under an hour you have too much catalyst in it.

Set your board so the bottom is level and tape about 6-10mm around your dings. Do this in two levels to create a barrier to stop the resin running. Fill the ding and let it set. You need to check that it keeps its level, as it may run into a crack. If it does, fill again before the resin starts to go off. Otherwise if the resin has started to set, leave until hard and do another mix.

Lightly sand with progressively finer grades of wet & dry sand-paper (usually black) until you are happy with the finish. Do this gently, otherwise you will take some of the original finish off and could go down to the glass.

You can get most of this stuff from hardware stores such as Bunnings. Might cost you $30-50 first time, but it lasts for years and no doubt you or your mates will need it again some day.

Take your time and you should get a good result...

GPA

PS - check YouTube for ding repair 'how to' tutorial videos - amazing what you can find...

On my recent trip to Bali, I did the same - puncture hole in the bottom of the board. I used Solarez which is a UV setting resin with some fibers in it. There are a few different brands and you can get it for epoxy and poly boards. The cost is about 10 to 20 dollars per tube and you can do heaps of repairs with one tube. It's also great for fixing rails - just use cling film to shape the resin around the rail - the UV of the sun gets through the cling film and cures the resin. It cures fully hard within an hour and can be sanded. The best thing is that there is no mixing involved.

With any repairs make sure you clean the area well with alcohol or similar to dry the area out and remove salt. Also clean any debris or shards of glass out of the ding.

thanks a lot guys!! im gonna try and get a repair kit today and give it a go... hope i dont f%*k it up ;-))
cheers!

Practice on an old board first before doing the new one. Especially if you are going to be using a mixing type epoxy and sanding

I dont even bother with ding repairs anymore , cause my boards are usually looking pretty ordinary after a year anyway.
Just tape it up , and ride it till the death. It adds character I reckon , but thats just me - rough as guts