how do u patch up a ding on your surfboard

If u surf & own ur own surfboard, u will inevitably have to repair a damaged part or ''ding,'' where the fiberglass & resin originally laid by the shaper is punctured. Now, with surfboards becoming a rarity due a shortage in surfboard foam, ding repair is becoming more essential to any surfer. What follows r the easiest ways to fix small to medium size dings.
Most dings come from use in the water, so the first step anyone must do is to make sure that all the water absorbed by the foam inside evaporates, if u decide to fix ur board before the water is gone, u risk having a waterlogged board & the yellowing that comes with exposure to the sun. A few hours in the hot sun should be sufficient enough to dry it out. Next, u should clean the area, much like u would to prepare a cut. Instead of using peroxide, use a little soap & water to clean out any bacteria. Not too much, u do not want to have to let it dry it again. Once these steps have been completed, u will need some sort of ding repair mix. l recommend u go to ur local surf shop & pick up some resin & hardener from a surfboard shaper. These can been found most anywhere & should run between 5 & 20 dollars each, a little pricey, but most shops charge double that for custom repair.

Once u have the materials, u should find a little mixing jug. Half of a liter bottle should work. Plastic works the best, as some other materials will be melted by the resin. Pour enough resin to cover ur ding three or four times. This is because u will probably be doing more than one coat. For every few milliliters of resin, no more than two drops of hardener should be added. To much hardener will make it hard to sand later. A Popsicle stick is ur best bet to mix the two together. If u have an old paintbrush, use that for spreading. Make sure the area is clean, & spread evenly over the ding. You should repeat this process a few times, each time letting the area harden & then adding another. When u feel that the area has been sealed adequately, leave it in the sun to harden for good. It does not matter if is a little bumpy. Sanding will come later. 4-6 hours in the sun should be sufficient enough. Once it is as hard as the rest of the board, simple sandpaper that can be found at a hardware store should be used for smoothing the area. If u have a power sander, that works the best. Smooth the area until it is to ur liking. Remember, it will be very hard to mimic the original resin job, so do ur best. Knowing that u fixed ur board by yourself will be a great accomplishment especially in this day & age when boards r becoming rarer & rarer. Having this skill will prolong the life of ur board & prove to ur friends how cool u are!

get this stuff called solarez it will patch up ur ding

Wow, that first person who posted an answer sure is good at ''copy'' & ''paste.''

l agree with the second person, get a tube of Solarez. It is a little black & yellow plastic tube u can get at just about any surf shop. Inside there will be instructions, a small toothpaste-like tube of resin-like stuff, & a small piece of sandpaper/filing board.

Basically, dry, sand down, & clean the area where the ding is at. Squeeze some Solarez on the ding. Put saran wrap over it. Let it sit in the sun for 5 minutes. Remove the saran wrap. Sand & buff for a smooth finish. Voila!

If your ding is not very deep, Suncure works well and you can do it right at the beach. All you really need is the Suncure, a stick, and a single edge razor blade. If you need to fix something more severe, there is an entire chapter on fixing boards in my on-line book that can provide you details. There are also a number of descriptions linked in the on-line surf library.

Start here: swaylocks.com