The other day after surfing I noticed small dark areas on the base of my board, indicating it was taking on water !! After further investigation I have found all sorts of small pin hole developing on the base of the board some have gone all the way through (water damage) but many have yet to.

Has anyone seen this before ?

This board has been good for years, and suddenly this ? I am suspecting that it has seen some material that is attacking the fiberglass.

I have stored it in a surf case (Santa Monica Surfcase) all summer with the base up against the foam inside the case. I can't see a problem there but its the only thing I can note, other than washing my truck in one of those do-it-yourself car washes while the board (inside the case) was in the back (maybe the soap ??).

I'm at a lose to explain it.


Thanks for any help.
Peace,
Greg

Can you post a picture of it?

Hey Moonie,

What make of board / construction is it?
Standard Poly foam and glass?

The only thing I can think of might be the over all construction of it.
I've noticed on several Stewart Surfboards and boards made by Stewart (like some Hobie models) with similar dark spotting.

It appears that maybe there could be a problem with the glassing on these. Not sure if it would be not enough resin or maybe too heavy handed in the final sandout/polishing. The pinholing could be the fibreglass cloth weave with a lack of resin on it.

Is it happening all over the board top and bottom?

A lot of boards are made today with what is called a "Sanded Finish". What this means is that, after glassing the board and a filler coat of resin is applied, the board is sanded smooth. A "Sanded Finish" is then achieved by wet snading with finer grades of sandpaper (320, 400, 600, etc) to achieve a dull shine. This can expose minor pinholes that will eventually let water soak into the polyurethane foam blank and yellow with time and the sun. It can also lead eventually to delamination of the fiberglass from the foam.

"Sanded Finish" is more often found on shortboards to reduce weight and save a few dollars.

Normally, in the past, after sanding a final gloss coat of resin is applied, which seals minor pinholes and can be buffed to a high gloss finish.

I hope this helped illustrate the cause.

The cure is to fix all dings as soon as tey happen, sand the whole bottom and apply a gloss coat to prevent further water migration.

Tim,

Ha, its a standard ploy and fiberglass 8'6" Terry Senate (board builder from Huntington Beach CA), the funny thing is that pin holes just appeared. I bought this board used in CA and its been fine for ~ three years. Suddenly this, unless I just didn't notice the holes develop. I just noticed when some were taking on water and caused the discolouration spots on the base (I will have to take off some wax to tell if its on the top). At this time its relatively minor but Im concerned !!

Sounds like Lester may have a handle on this, the board is very lite for its size and the finish is a clear flat (not glossy)--> perhaps a "sanded finish"

Thanks all for the input. I will put on a gloss coat.

Greg