Surfboard Maintenance...
Basics of Surfboard Maintenance -- powered by eHow.com
Some Final Notes to Anyone Buying a Used Surf Board
The two main things to check out on a used surf board (aside from the size and shape of the board) are the fins and whether or not the board is water tight.
Fins: With the fins, if they are glassed on (permanently attached) to the board, are they on solidly? If they seem loose or have any ‘give’ at the base of the fin, there could be problems down the road. The price of the board should reflect that. If there are a few very thin cracks at the base of one of the fins, usually water will not get in there but there is a slight risk. If the board has removable fins, just make sure that all of the plugs or boxes are firmly attached to the board.
Water Tight: If a board has dings that will allow water to get under the fiber glass layer into the foam of the board, then these dings must be fixed. Surfing on a board that is taking on water will lead to discoloration of the board (usually a brown spot will grow) and weakening of the board in general. If a board has dings that have been repaired well, generally you are not likely to have further problems with the dings BUT you never know. Thus, as the number of dings go up the $ price normally will go down.
One further note on dings. Pressure dings are dents into the board. Unless a pressure ding has fractures around it in the glass (circular cracks in or around the dent), a pressure ding usually will not compromise the structure of a board. Pressure dings are common in used boards and are generally more a cosmetic concern than anything else. If a board does have an unusual number of pressure dings it can be considered a sign of a weak board. This weakness would be due to either a light fiberglass job or use of an ultra light foam blank or both. In this situation, you can expect the board to ding more easily in the future and have a shorter life span.
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