Advice on Foil Wing Repair（Polyester Resin VS Epoxy Resin）

Foils and Boards - Gear Talk
1

I have a crack in the wing of my foil and would like to repair it. Should I use Polyester Resin (PE) or Epoxy Resin for the repair?

My foil model: S26 Naish HA 1240

2

Definitely epoxy. Polyester only sticks to polyester. Suggest sanding off the clear coat and rough 40grit sand for better bond. May also require some fiber reinforcement if hhe crack is structural.

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3

I can tell you with certainty that if you’re asking this question, your repair is going to do more harm than good.

If it’s rideable with a scratch or even a gouge right now And you try to put epoxy on it you’re gonna end up with a glob of epoxy, and it’s going to affect performance more than in the scratch that was there before.

If the damage damage is structural there’s nothing that you’re going to do that’s going to make it better. Buy a new wing. They are disposable. Especially with Naish stuff.

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4

I like Loctite - 0151 Hysol epoxy for foil repairs. It’s thixotropic and has a light paste texture so it will sit exactly where you put it in the shape you put it in.

It dries clear.

  1. Sand out and clean the damaged area to remove any loose material
  2. Put clear packing tape around the damage
  3. Carefully fill in the missing material with epoxy, popsicle sticks work well to shape the repair and remove excess
  4. After curing, remove packing tape and assess the amount of material which needs to be removed to blend. If there is any significant amount, tape around the repair with blue painters tape and slowly, patiently sand away the excess. Be careful not to sand the non-repair area until the excess is fully removed and only then with 600+ grit to blend the repair in.

I buy the packs of sandpaper that go from 120 to 2000 grit along with a variety of foam sanding blocks with coarse grit.

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5

Thank you so much all for your responses!!

A damage itself is small and I believe it’s not structural, so I’ll try repairing it with epoxy resin.

6

Is this softer than regular epoxy? That to me is the biggest risk when repairing is the epoxy setting harder and requiring more sanding. Epoxy filler for non-structural repairs seems like the lowest risk

7

Loctite - 0151 Hysol is basically regular epoxy with an additive to make it thixotropic. It isn’t soft. It doesn’t sand easily, but it does sand about the same as a carbon layup so it can be blended in perfectly.

It isn’t a fast method, for some repairs I probably take the blue tape off and on a couple times before I’m satisfied the repair is ready to blend. Maybe 20-30 minutes sanding.

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