I have a Bounce SUP board that I bought used, for $125, from a rental company in Austin Tx. It was made with a “thermal composite” technology, which uses fiberglass but instead of epoxy they “infuse the thermoplastic resin into fiberglass cloth.”
Well I love the board, but I am getting fiberglass rash every time i touch the stupid thing. I am hoping there is way to can refinish the board or repair it? I’d basically have to reseal the entire board, other than the padded area. The company only suggest things to repair cracks or dings, and the rental company suggested I “clear coat” the board. I don’t even know where to start with all this and was hoping someone smarter than I could point me in the right direction. Any thoughts?
I’ve uploaded some photos to a google drive photo https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GtVPord77WicNxA-5Cidrllh_6TJScHR
May I suggest water shoes and paddling gloves. I know that’s probably not what you want to hear but it would solve your problem. At least temporarily until someone can advise you on coating the board. Having a professional do it may cost you more than the board. With YouTube you could look up how to do it yourself.
Take it back to the rental company and ask for your money back. If they don’t do that make sure you write several nasty reviews on Yelp, Google, Facebook etc. Also mention the rental company in this thread. They knew there was bad fiberglass exposure when they sold it for $150, they also knew you had no idea what you were looking at. Not exactly a nice business.
If they won’t take it back, cut it up and throw it away, and look for a decent board. You are going to spend a lot to coat it and it is a POS, not worth it.
Yeah. I try to stay covered when i use or carry the board.
But honestly i bought it knowing it needed some work. But $150 for a board, a paddle, and a leash was well worth it. Even if i have to put that much into it, it’ll be worth it to have a great performing board that i’m not afraid to throw around. And it gives me a project to do during the shelter in place, haha!
I would ask on a sup specific site, those folks usually know a lot about the care and feeding of boards.
It might not be that hard to put some fiberglass cloth on the spots where you handle and stand on it and hit it with a coat of resin. But if you don’t prep it correctly and use the right materials you could end up with a mess.
Good luck!
This sounds and looks a lot like the Twin-tex material that Esquif canoe tried for a couple of models of canoes. It was a commercial failure.
Twin-tex is polypropylene infused into fiberglass roving. I did extensive repairs to a Twin-tex canoe which were successful, but the material is miserable to work with. As the surface of the material gets abrades, tiny fiberglass fibers shed from the hull. The effect is much worse than the typical fiberglass rash in that the tiny little pieces of fiber seem to be coated with plastic that makes them like little needles.
I don’t know if you checked out the website for that company. Here is a FAQ that gives a some suggestions for repair:
And here is a pdf that describes repair of that material using thermal welding:
Note that the manufacturer recommends using West System G Flex epoxy for repairs that cannot be done by thermal welding.
I can tell you a few things you might not want to here. Conventional epoxy will probably not bond well to that material. Unfortunately, polypropylene is rather chemically-inert and not much wants to stick to it in any durable fashion.
G Flex epoxy probably will work based on my experience repairing the Twin-tex canoe. G Flex does not bond to polypropylene in any durable way but it will bond well to any fiberglass that is not completely coated with plastic. If you want to try to get G Flex to bond to the boat, you will need to sand the surface thoroughly to expose naked fiberglass fibers (which will be a fairly miserable experience) and I would also suggest pre-treating the surface with flame oxidation with a handheld propane torch. This has to be done very carefully to avoid melting the material.
Having said that I think it will be highly impractical as in time-consuming, expensive, and unpleasant, to try to coat the entire board with G Flex epoxy and it might not even work. Likewise applying a complete blanket of fiberglass to the board, although you might try bonding fiberglass to limited contact areas using G Flex.
If you do purchase G Flex the instructions include information on how to go about doing the flame oxidation pre-treatment. You could use a fairly light weight of plain weave fiberglass cloth, like 4 ounce/square yard if you want to try to do that. The cost of the G Flex would outweigh the cost of the fabric.
I use Gflex Epoxy for my waveski and SUP repairs, I also use it for laminating bows. it’s not cheap, and it’s not very good at penetrating into old layers of fiberglass. I would take the board back to them as I said above. If you only had a small area to fix it would be OK to try, but it’s not worth the cost and time if you do.
Yeah that sounds like what I’m experiencing with the fiberglass shedding.
I did see those links, but even the the West Systems kit is for localized repairs and I need to cover the whole thing. Also from what I have seen, that epoxy doesn’t dry clear, but some nasty putrid yellow color.
Honestly at this point I’m considering just throwing some type of clear coat over the whole thing and hoping that does the trick. If I get one more season out of the board, then that’s good enough for me. I’ve already got my money’s worth from it. Thanks for the suggestions so far y’all.
Have you had any luck finding something to “clear coat” the board? We have the exact same problem! The kids get burning rashes when they are touching the board! Any help is great!! Thanks
if it is made of a material to which epoxy will bond, I would suggest trying System Three Clear Coat epoxy. It mixes easily in a 2:1 ratio of resin to hardener by volume.
It levels out much better than conventional epoxy as it is a “low-viscosity, penetrating epoxy” and it cures clear. Also works well on wood and can be covered with marine varnish if desired.
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Hey Debra. I did have a friend suggest some surf board epoxy, but it all seemed for more trouble than it was worth. I sold the paddle board (with full disclosure to the buyer) a while back.
Honestly, I just was able to always have something between my body and the board. I slung a life jacket over the board while carrying it under my arm so I wouldn’t touch it. And then I just stayed on the padded standing area while on it.
If I were you, I would reach out to a canoe/kayak shop to see if they know someone to repair it. The board I used was from a company that had a proprietary fiberglass technique so it was really wonky. They’ve since gone out of business.
Thanks for the tips!! Appreciate the response!!
Ha ha! Found this discussion in a Google search. Same story here (Bounce SUP, former rentals - I have two). I don’t really like paddle boarding much but want to keep them for guests.
I could care less about appearance, so I may try coating just the surfaces that would be in contact with arm and torso while carrying the board. (The whole board shouldn’t need to be treated.) While paddling, the only contact is with the deck pad. Even getting onto the board at first or after falling off it could be done comfortably by using the areas that are coated… assuming it works. TBD.
Like the original poster, the cost of the boards was minimal and they are sturdy and will last a long time. If the fiberglass splinter issue can be fixed relatively easily, they were well worth the price.
(I deleted my reply after finally noticing that the original question was a couple years old. I suddenly recognized the writing style and the knowledge contained in the post by “anon64780766”. That’s got to be “pblanc” from the old P.net. I know he’s gone from here at the moment, which prompted me to start noticing the older dates in this thread).
Oh! But since one guy here has the same problem and posted just a month ago, I’ll revive my reply. Try this! Rub it down with a denim rag. I had major issues with splinters on a little motorboat with a chopper-gun fiberglass hull which had suffered major UV damage to the surface resin. I rubbed it down with a denim rag 30 years ago and haven’t had a trace of issues with splinters since then (the boat is now stored indoors which keeps the problem from re-developing). If the deeper fiberglass is still well saturated with resin as it should be, this trick might be good enough!
You are facing a problem with the Bounce SUP 13 board and have had fiberglass rash which means the whole board except the padded area must be refinished and resealed to repair it. First, scrub the board with a slightly soapy solution and thus, get rid of dirt, grease, and loose fiberglass particles by using fresh water. Then, dry the board completely before you start. The following step is to sand down the whole surface of the board (apart from the padded area) with fine sandpaper until you get a smooth finish and thus prepare the surface by getting rid of rough areas.Ensure to use protective approaches with fiberglass particles like gloves and a mask. You can select a marine-grade clear coat or epoxy resin specifically designed for sealing fiberglass, as these products are made for water exposure and long-lasting protection. When applying the clear coat or epoxy resin, follow the manufacturer’s instructions step by step. After each coat, let it dry completely before repeating the process. After applying the last coat, let the board cure for the prescribed period, allowing the coating to harden completely for maximum protection. Check the board after the curing process and get rid of any uneven areas by sanding and reapplying if needed. At the same time, make sure that there are no fiberglass fibers behind the board, use this to test it. This way, you can easily remedy your Bounce SUP 13 board, the damage caused by fiberglass rash will disappear. If you ever feel you might need the help of a pro, just go ahead and get it.
Same problem here on an Focus board, a high-end race one like this:
Their site says Construction Carbon ACT, but I have fiberglass fibers going into my skin, so it must be an older construction. I’ve had it at least five years but left it out in the sun too much so whatever protective coating was there before has burned off.
I bought System Three Clear Coat (aka Low Viscosity Epoxy Resin) which I see has been suggested here by @anon64780766. Maybe I just lucked out but it seems like the right product. I will follow the steps suggested by @brookee and report back.
It’s also possible this is carbon fiber and not fiberglass, so I am unsure if the clearcoat will bond well. It may also make it heavier or other issues, but otherwise the board is too trashy to sell, so perhaps I can salvage some use out of it rather than throw it into the landfill.
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