Basic Surfboard Maintenance

You got your surfboard and you want to keep it looking as good as you can. You will want to make sure you keep it looking good.

If you buy a used board you want to scrape off all the old wax. If you have an old credit card that you no longer use you can use it to scrape off the way. Put your board out in the sun for awhile so it warms up and that will help the wax scrape off more easily. You will want to do it outside because it can be a little messy. Try to get it on your furniture or in your house because it can be a little messy.

Remove any stickers or anything else that is on the board. Then you want to wash your board. You can use any dish soap you have to clean off your board. If you are told to skip this step ignore them and clean the board. It does not take a lot of time and it is worth maintaining your board properly.

Waxing Your Board

You can use board wax or car wax. Car wax can do the job on a fiberglass board. Just as it makes a Vette look great it will make your board look great. You want to wax the top and bottom of the board. You will probably want to use more than one coat of it. This will make the board slippery and will also seal it. The sealing process will help protect your board from water pressure.

The slippery bottom of the board will help you catch more waves. You will also find that there is a little less drag.

Fixing a Ding

Look over your surfboard and look for all your chips, cracks and scratches. Mark your board with a marking pen or a piece of tape. Then use a razor blade to cut away the fiberglass from the damaged area. You want to remove the entire damaged area. Be careful not to do more damage by cutting into the foam or peeling away undamaged fiberglass.

Get a fiberglass repair kit. They are generally inexpensive. Use sandpaper to smooth out the area where you removed the fiberglass. Sand the area so there is a smooth seam where the foam and fiberglass meet. You will want to leave surface a little rough.

Cut a piece of cloth out of the repair kit in the shape of the damaged area. Mix the material sin the kit according to the directions. It hardens quickly so you want to move with a sense or urgency but not at the risk of being sloppy.

Apply the paste to the area being repaired and lay the cloth on the paste. Wait for the resin to harden. Then check that you covered the area fully.

Sand the board to make it smooth again and then apply your wax, etc after everything is fully dry. Some surfers like to cover the area with a sticker. That is optional.