How to Repair a Ding to the Tail of your Varuna Surfboard

We took a brand new board and dinged it up with a metal hammer so you can repair yours if it gets dinged. We’re sorry to the board but you can see Varuna surfboards can take a beating before breaking.
Here’s what you need to complete the repair.
EPOXY RESIN LEFT
HARDENER RIGHT
CAB-O-SIL LINK - NOT FULLY NECESSARY BUT MAKES THE RESIN THICKER AND STRONGER SO THAT IT’S NOT AS RUNNY
DREMMEL
HAND SAW
GORILLA GRIP GLUE
CLAMPS
MASKING TAPE
WOODEN STICK
HARD SANDING PAD
SOFT SANDING PAD
BRUSH TO CLEAN UP THE DUST
Inspect your damaged area and remove any loose fibreglass or wood.
Sand back the damaged area using 80 grit with a hard pad on the sander, making sure to go 5cm over into undamaged fibreglass so that when you repair the board you can bond to this area firmly. Sand lightly, making sure not to take all the glass off, except for the immediate damaged area.
Here you can see the glue that fixes our balsa deck and bottom together.
Mark a cut line using a ruler and with a dremel, create a cut through the fibreglass layers that are remaining.
Finish the cut with a hand saw as seen here, aiming for as straight a cut as possible. This will make the glueing of a new tailpiece much easier.
Inspect your cut and sand the flat area by hand until it is flush.
Using the balsa repair patches provided by Varuna, glue up a new tail piece. To do this you will layer and glue the balsa repair patches cross grain so as to create a strong bond. We use gorilla grip. For this repair we used 6 pieces of balsa repair patches, this is based on the size of the repair you’re working on. Clamp the block and leave it 24 hours for the glue to dry fully.
Cut your balsa repair patch block to roughly the size and shape of the tail you’re repairing. Making sure to cut it along the stacked angle for the strongest adhesion.
Hold it up against the tail and draw a line so that it matches the other wing of your swallowtail. For this demonstration we used a Varuna Space Hawk swallowtail.
Using a handsaw, cut the lines you have drawn to match the board’s tail in shape and thickness.
Use 60 grit sandpaper and sand back the area around the repair as the fibreglass will overlap this area and form a bond.
Mark the top of your repair piece so you glue the right side up.
Place your board vertically so that you can set the repair piece easily.
Add gorilla grip glue to the repair point and the repair piece. Place the repair piece on the tail and hold until it settles into place.
Use masking tape to secure the repair piece to the board. Three pieces of tape will create a solid hold. Leave this 24 hours for the glue to fully set.
Orbital sand with 60 grit the repair piece down to the right size and shape, being careful not to press too firmly as this may move the glued piece. Use 80 grit to make smaller changes and then finish by hand sanding until you’re happy with the symmetry of your tail.
Clean the area with methylated spirits so you can clearly see your work and in preparation for the next steps.
Tape here to mark your area.
Cut the 6oz fibreglass cloth into a triangular shape and tape it into place on the deck of the board. Trim the edges so you’ve got a clean line of repair. Cut small incisions on the tip so that you can wrap the cloth around the tail.
Repeat this process for the bottom of the board.
Mix your resin with 2 parts resin and 1 part hardener with a pinch of cab-o-sil.
Brush epoxy resin onto the area so that it sticks the fibreglass down. Lay the cloth down and brush epoxy resin on. Don’t overlap your rails with the cloth, just cover the bottom of the board. When the resin is tacky, almost set, trim the cloth back to make the next step easier to sand back.
Repeat the process for the deck side of the tail but this time overlap the rails with your fibreglass cloth.
Sand back the area with 120 grit and a hard pad. At this stage you don’t want to sand back too much, just enough to smooth the area. If you sand the cloth too aggressively it will weaken the fibres of the cloth.
With a paintbrush, paint on the filler coat to cover any small imperfections in your work.
Allow to dry then use a soft pad and 150 grit sandpaper to gently smooth the surface until you’re satisfied. Mixing between hand sanding the intricate areas and machine sanding when necessary.
Tape up the paint lines on the board and spray paint your newly replaced tail to match the board. Spray a little matte finish to seal the deal and you’re back in the water.