Hi all,

I have a board that am trying to bring back from death. It had a lot of holes everywhere, I thought I patched all of them but the board is not watertight. I suspect there might be something going on in the foilbox but how do I test with soapy water if I cannot build air pressure? I was thinking I could insert a tube in the vent thread and use a bike pump to get some air in. But I'm not sure how to seal it temporarily. The leak is big enough that the pump won't generate enough pressure to delam. Thoughts?

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WillyWind said..
Hi all,

I have a board that am trying to bring back from death. It had a lot of holes everywhere, I thought I patched all of them but the board is not watertight. I suspect there might be something going on in the foilbox but how do I test with soapy water if I cannot build air pressure? I was thinking I could insert a tube in the vent thread and use a bike pump to get some air in. But I'm not sure how to seal it temporarily. The leak is big enough that the pump won't generate enough pressure to delam. Thoughts?

Just put it out in the sun and board pressure levels will change and expose leaks as it heats up.

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tonyk said..

WillyWind said..
Hi all,

I have a board that am trying to bring back from death. It had a lot of holes everywhere, I thought I patched all of them but the board is not watertight. I suspect there might be something going on in the foilbox but how do I test with soapy water if I cannot build air pressure? I was thinking I could insert a tube in the vent thread and use a bike pump to get some air in. But I'm not sure how to seal it temporarily. The leak is big enough that the pump won't generate enough pressure to delam. Thoughts?

Just put it out in the sun and board pressure levels will change and expose leaks as it heats up.

Where I live It might be days until there is sun :)

also, since the leak seems to be biggish, it will take a few seconds for all the air to escape.

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WillyWind said..

tonyk said..

WillyWind said..
Hi all,

I have a board that am trying to bring back from death. It had a lot of holes everywhere, I thought I patched all of them but the board is not watertight. I suspect there might be something going on in the foilbox but how do I test with soapy water if I cannot build air pressure? I was thinking I could insert a tube in the vent thread and use a bike pump to get some air in. But I'm not sure how to seal it temporarily. The leak is big enough that the pump won't generate enough pressure to delam. Thoughts?

Just put it out in the sun and board pressure levels will change and expose leaks as it heats up.

Where I live It might be days until there is sun :)

also, since the leak seems to be biggish, it will take a few seconds for all the air to escape.

That's a tough one then, I am sure a pro board repairer will chime in with some ideas, best of luck

First cool it off, then close the vent, spray it with soapy water, and set it in the sun.

Back in my sailing days we used to use a vacuum cleaner with a blower function and semi seal it in an inspection port for the soapy water test. You could probably do something similar by holding/sealing the hose of the vacuum on the bung hole.

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jdfoils said..
First cool it off, then close the vent, spray it with soapy water, and set it in the sun.

No sun for MANY days and if we are lucky to get some sun it's too cold.

I found a plastic hose that has the same diameter as the plug. I added some bathroom caulking. I'll use a bike pump. I'll report back.

It worked! Rear footstrap insert. Inside one so I'll plug it for now.

This is exactly how i do it. I use some modeling clay to set and seal hose tip of a hand pump. I pump slowly to pull air with light pressure. Air go where it's easier = where it can go out, bingo. Since you don't go overpressure and you have a free outlet somwhere not so much risk.

My tip is then do it again. As it had so much damage - you may have found and plugged a primary leak and there's still another little thing going on elsewhere

But don't pump too hard!!!!!!

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decrepit said..
But don't pump too hard!!!!!!

Geeze no. Any more than light mouth pressure will wreck a board.

If there's no sunshine, how about a hair dryer with soapy water? or would that be too much....

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Imax1 said..

decrepit said..
But don't pump too hard!!!!!!

Geeze no. Any more than light mouth pressure will wreck a board.

Agree. I'm pushing the pump handle down with one finger only. I'll plug the leak and test it again but like Mark said, I'll be even more careful because there might not be leaks.

I'm concerned about Decrepit and Imax..... they appear to be discussing your board but........

I guess, appearances can be deceptive.

So great. Thanks for sharing