Now take out the clothe in your fiberglass repair kit and cut a piece just slightly larger, and the same shape, as the removed area. Do this for all the dings you plan to fix. Once you've mixed the resin, you won't want to waste time cutting the clothe to fit.
Mix the resin and the catalyst as directed by the repair kit. It will form a creamy paste. Once the catalyst is added, the pasted will begin to harden. As it gets a little harder, it gets easier to work with, but then as it get more hard, it becomes impossible to work with, so timing is essential. Spread the resin into the prepped ding area and then cover it with the clothe. The resin will seep through the clothe and seem messy at first, but don't worry about that right now. Just try to keep it smooth and confined to the dinged area. Make sure the entire ding is filled and covered, and don't worry about some of the clothe sticking out on the sides for now. Do this for all your dings before the resin can harden.
Take a breather. That resin can be pretty toxic shit, and you're probably nice and high by now. I should have mentioned to wear a mask or something, but I've fixed enough dings in my day that I tend to forget... uh... stuff.
The resin takes about fifteen to twenty minutes to harden completely. Check your work and to make sure that you completely filled in your dings. Then sand it. Start with rougher paper, and move to finer. You should be able to sand your ding right back to it's original shape and smoothness. The extra clothe will sand right off and the rough bumps of the resin will disappear completely. It's probably best to sand by hand, as power sander tend to work a little too well, and you may end up having to re-do the whole thing. Finish the job with fine sand paper.
You are now, officially, ding repair certified. If your friends seem impressed, offer to fix their dings for $25 a pop, just like the surf shops do.
Mix the resin and the catalyst as directed by the repair kit. It will form a creamy paste. Once the catalyst is added, the pasted will begin to harden. As it gets a little harder, it gets easier to work with, but then as it get more hard, it becomes impossible to work with, so timing is essential. Spread the resin into the prepped ding area and then cover it with the clothe. The resin will seep through the clothe and seem messy at first, but don't worry about that right now. Just try to keep it smooth and confined to the dinged area. Make sure the entire ding is filled and covered, and don't worry about some of the clothe sticking out on the sides for now. Do this for all your dings before the resin can harden.
Take a breather. That resin can be pretty toxic shit, and you're probably nice and high by now. I should have mentioned to wear a mask or something, but I've fixed enough dings in my day that I tend to forget... uh... stuff.
The resin takes about fifteen to twenty minutes to harden completely. Check your work and to make sure that you completely filled in your dings. Then sand it. Start with rougher paper, and move to finer. You should be able to sand your ding right back to it's original shape and smoothness. The extra clothe will sand right off and the rough bumps of the resin will disappear completely. It's probably best to sand by hand, as power sander tend to work a little too well, and you may end up having to re-do the whole thing. Finish the job with fine sand paper.
You are now, officially, ding repair certified. If your friends seem impressed, offer to fix their dings for $25 a pop, just like the surf shops do.
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