I got an inflatable wing board for traveling, and have used it a bunch of times to get used to it (and because I actually like it better than my wider hard board with the same volume). It has developed air bubbles near the foot strap plugs that are slowly growing. I've contacted the store about warranty, and the brand stated this would be an easy repair (injecting glue). Board repairs around here are typically done by a boat builder that's some distance away. I don't know how much experience he has with inflatables.
I think I can do the repair myself, but am not sure about what glue to inject. For hard board repairs and a few builds that I have down, I have used contact cement and E6000, both of which worked fine. But I'm not sure if they are ok for the inflatable, too.Has anyone done a similar repair, and advice on what to use (and perhaps other tips? Thanks!
First question, how old is it? Inflatables only last a few years especially if they are stored in hot places such as cars or left in the sun.
Once an inflatable starts to delaminate in places, it means other places will start to delaminate too.
So unless the board is quite new and has been treated well, it might not be worth trying a repair.
I would want a replacement board. With out taking off the pad and checking what's going on you have no idea of the defect. I can't see injecting glue under the pad sorting it, esp the pressure a board is pumped up to. My fear with an in flatable was it going down when I was a long way out at sea.
Does the board loose pressure? Or is this a case of deck pad delamination? If it's the latter then injecting glue could work.
Did the manufacturer see pics? If not they may have assumed just an EVA deck pad bubble but this looks like far more...? (I'm not familar with the board but the inserts should not be sitting up like that, right?) If its in the warranty period and they assumed just a pad bubble I'd take them to task on it and bunging some glue in will not fix it when its more than that
Mark, this is going through a warranty claim (I bought the board new less than 4 months earlier), so the brand rep has seen the pictures. The assessment that "this is an easy repair" by injecting glue was from the brand rep.
On this board, the inserts are sitting on top of the main structure, and the EVA is glued above it all. So the inserts do stick up in the brand new board. I actually liked that because it gives me good feedback about foot placements; a friend who tried the board hated it. The board is a Skybrid Air. In the videos on the Duotone website, you can see the inserts are sticking up (not so in the pictures - seems they use graphics renderings for the pictures that do not show this, rather than actual photos). So these seem to be just pad bubbles. They are forming right next to the footstrap inserts. My take on what's happening is this: the air is leaking out very slowly (slow enough that the board maintains pressure for many days). Where the EVA is glued down well, that stops the leaking. But it's very hard to glue it down well enough around the inserts, so the air can escape there, and build bubbles that grow over time. The air cannot escape since the glue works well on top of the large strap insert plates.
If that analysis is correct, then squirting in glue should fix it, since this will leave holes through which air could escape in the future (although it may require many holes around the inserts to work well).
I had tested an identical board before buying this one. The board I tested had spent many weeks or months in a trailer, probably inflated for long times, and it did not have the problem mine has. So this could be a "Monday board" where the EPA was not put on well.Do you have any experience with attaching EPA to inflatables, and specifically which glue may work, or is not compatible?
Just in case anyone encounters a similar problem, the brand rep has come back with a suggestion on what glue to use: "the glue you want is any kind of contact cement, of the best to us is HH66". He also gave a link to one he's used before on Amazon (www.amazon.com/HH-66-Vinyl-Cement-Adhesive-Ounce/dp/B07SCV1Z6F).
Duotone offered to pay for the repair at a repair shop, and if I knew one close by or had a trip to Hatteras planned in the near future, I'd let a shop do it. Since neither is the case, and I have glued or re-glued plenty of EPA on hardboards, it's easy to do the repair myself.
Ok good clarification
if I was a hard board I'd slit the EVA along a natural line with scalpel and glue down with contact adhesive. then it'd invisible. That will be harder on inflatable of course. the issue is solvents have to evaporate so injecting in small holes will be problematic and any leftover solvent will make it bubble again when it gets warm
Good point about the solvent evaporation. I had wondered about how injection would work given the usual instructions are to let contact cement dry partially before sticking things together, but had not realized that this is for the solvent to evaporate. I may just do what you describe instead of injecting through small holes. I just verified that the identical board I had tested has been left inflated for months without developing the same problem, so I guess I got a board that was glued on Monday morning, after a good weekend.
Oh and the lack of adhesion is for a reason. Like mould release left on the deck etc. so give it a good scrub under the pad with xylene or acrylic thinners after you've got it up. use enough and you won't need a beer while doing the job
