How to Maintain a Surfboard

By eHow Sports & Fitness Editor

Rate: (13 Ratings)

Surfboards are expensive and damage easily, so take care of the one you have. Beat-up boards don't perform as well as those kept in good condition.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Women's Athletic Swimsuits
Duct Tape
Sunscreen
Adhesive Traction Pads
Bubble Wraps
Board Shorts
Surf Leashes
Surf Waxes
Surfboard Bags
Surfboard Ding Repair Kits
Surfboard Racks
Surfboards
Surfing Wet Suits

Step1

Invest the extra $30 or so in a "board sock," or cloth surfboard bag, to protect and store your quality board.

Step2

Get a surfboard rack for the top of your car. Loading boards into the trunk, backseat or back of a truck can damage them.

Step3

Avoid leaving your board in the sun. Ultraviolet rays can degrade the hard fiberglass shell around the soft foam core, causing delamination, as well as melt the coat of wax off your board.

Step4

Try not to whack your board into walls, other surfboards or other objects when you carry it.

Step5

Avoid standing your board on end up against a wall, since a gust of wind or a small bump might topple it.

Step6

Fix any dents that may leak water into your surfboard's foam core with a ding repair kit, or have it done by a professional at a surfboard shop.

Step7

Invest in a quality board bag to protect it from abusive baggage handlers if you need to take your board on an airplane.

Step8

Consider wrapping the board in bubble wrap and brace the fins so they can't snap off when carrying the board on a plane.

Tips & Warnings

If the surf's great and you don't want to miss any waves, temporarily cover dings with duct tape.
You can check to see if a ding leaks by sucking on it with your mouth. If you taste salty seawater, it leaks.

Comments

Anonymous said

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on 8/8/2006 If you only have a few minutes and you need a really quick fix, just wax over the crack with a heavy coat. It sounds stupid, but it works. Of course when you're done take that wax off and repair it or take it to your local surf shop to get it repaired.

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Don't use tape. Get a bottle of clear silicone and an ice cube. Put the silicone over the ding and smooth it out with the ice cube. When you go to fix the ding, the silicone will peel off. Silicone cures fast and won't come off in the surf or keep water in, like tape will.

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Use this to separate your boards from each other, cushion, traction, and a safe amount of space from each other to avoid dings, wax jobs, shatters, and slipping and sliding out and onto the road!

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Found to be the best method for all around board protection, functionality of it's design, and construction and durability while on overseas travels. The soft cushioning protects the boards from each other, while not having to be stuffed into a boardbag.