Most surfboards are made of pieces of foam covered with a thin shell of fiberglass and resin.
They are also not cheap.
The water, wind, sun and sand all take a toll on the surfboard’s surface and structure.
Taking care of your surfboard will help you have a smoother ride and help it to last for a longer time.
Surfboard care doesn’t take a long time to do, but putting the time and work in will be worthwhile the next time you catch a wave.
How Do You Get Dings In Your Surfboard?
From our experience here is a short list of how your surfboard may get dinged.
- Running over another surfer or their surfboard
- Getting run over by another surfer
- Not strapping your surfboard down securely on your roof racks or not at all before driving away
- Encounters with marine wild life when you surf
- Not wearing a leash or having your leash break resulting in losing your board only to see it tumble onto the rocks as you scream silently in pain as you replay what you could have done to prevent the impending damage that will be inflicted upon your surfboard
- Dropping your surfboard on hard sand
- Waxing your surfboard on the sand, all the while pressing into a rock
- Putting the surfboard down tail first too hard
- Standing the surfboard up without properly supporting it only to turn your back and hear it fall (and ding)
- Thrusting the surfboard nose first into the sand to try to get it to stick in the sand standing up like you see in pictures, but in doing so you hit a rock which is not what you imagined when you saw the pictures
- Not using a surfboard bag which would protect your surfboard from everyday wear and tear
- Poorly duck diving by not locking your arms only to have your surfboard hit you in the head leaving a pressure ding on the deck of the board that you look at each and every time you sit waiting for a wave
- Bailing off your surfboard in a sloppy fashion, usually surfing back sided, resulting in your knee impacting the deck and leaving a pressure ding
- Nose diving your surfboard in shallow water, breaking the nose off
- Using your surfboard as a shield against another surfer’s loose surfboards tumbling at you in the whitewater
- A car backing up over your surfboard
- Banging your surfboard against walls and other inanimate objects as you try to maneuver it from place to place
That is our short list of how you can get a ding in your surfboard.
Taking Care Of Your Surfboard
Surfboard Care Before Surfing
Before you even get into the water, there are a few things to do.
Avoid touching the surfboard if you have sunscreen on your hands.
Some of the chemicals in the sunscreen could damage the finish on your surfboard. Put your sunscreen on, and then wash your hands before touching the surfboard.
Taking Care While Surfing
Wear a leash while surfing. This keeps the surfboard with you.
You will have better control over where the surfboard goes, making it less likely to get scraped on rocks or other rough surfaces.
When you ride a wave to the shore, stop the surfboard before you run into the sand.
Running the surfboard into the sand could scratch the bottom of the surfboard.
Running it into sand can also rub off the finish and make the surfboard wear out faster.
Protecting the Surfboard from the Elements
As soon as you are out of the water for the day, rinse the surfboard off with fresh water.
Tap water works fine for this.
Removing the salt from the ocean water reduces the chance of a rough residue forming on the surfboard’s surface.
Avoid leaving the surfboard in extremely hot or cold places, like the trunk of a car or a garage that is not climate-controlled.
The sun’s UV rays degrade foam, so it’s best to keep the surfboard out of direct sunlight when you aren’t surfing.
Transportation and Storage of Your Surfboard
When your surfboard is not in the water, it should be properly protected.
A simple way to do this is with a bag, commonly referred to as a surfboard bag, a boardbag and a travel bag.
The boardbag makes it easy to carry your surfboard from the car to the beach.
It keeps dirt, sand, dust, residue and other materials from getting onto or pushing into the surfboard.
A boardbag is ideal for polyurethane and epoxy surfboards.
You can also toss your wetsuit, swim trunks and other soft items into the bag along with the surfboard.
If your surfboard is only made of foam, you probably don’t need a surfboard bag or sock.
Once you get home, position the surfboard against two walls.
Its tail end should have plenty of padding around it.
When you are ready to use the surfboard again, lift it up carefully.
Avoid banging it into anything hard, pointy or roughly textured.
Fixing Dings and Dents
Check for cracks, dings, dents and yellowing before and after each use of the surfboard. Look at all of the surfaces and the edges.
Even a small dent could have a big impact on how smoothly the surfboard moves in the water and can expose the foam to water.
If you do notice any dings, get them fixed as quickly as possible. If the damage reaches the foam core of the surfboard, a new coating may need to be applied to it.
After about 50 hours in the water, remove the surf wax, clean the surfboard and put a new coating of wax on it.
Taking the wax off allows you to locate minor dings and fix them.
Caring for your surfboard only takes a few minutes of time before and after each visit to the ocean.
Spending the time caring for your surfboard protects your investment.
The time you spend caring for the surfboard also benefits your performance.
A surfboard that is in great shape will deliver a longer, smoother and faster ride compared to one that has not been well-cared for.
Proper surfboard care extends its lifespan and familiarizes you with every inch of your surfboard.
