SURFMAT CARE & REPAIR

By Graeme Webster

Modern surfmats are highly evolved surfcraft made using light weight, high performance materials. These materials allow mats to achieve startling speeds in the most unexpected places. Like all surfcraft, mats need to be mainteined and will occaisionally get damaged (although nowhere nearly as much as their hard skinned cousins, the surfboard).

To help nurture a long and happy relationship between you and your surfmat, we’ve come up with the following video series for care and repair:

MAT CARE

In this video, we take a look at how to care for your mat between surf to ensure a long and happy life together.

 

REPAIRS

Punctures and tears in your mat can be repaired. Most mats come with repair patches. We also sell repair kits in our store which contain everything you need for repairs. If traveling, we would definitely recommend buying a repair kit or putting one together.

More significant repairs may be able to be repaired by the manufacturer. Unfortunately, damaged or torn I-beams (the bits inside the mat between the pontoons) can’t be repaired. If they go, it’s time for a new mat.

REPAIRING YOUR MAT

We have put together a series of videos on repairing/maintaing your mat. Don’t worry about forgetting things as we have added ke points beloew each video.

Fixing Pinholes:

Pinholes a tiny punctures in your mat leading to slow leaks. They can be caused by brambles on your walk down, sand particles or poor mat care. Pinholes can be easily repaired once found.

• Inflate the mat and put in in water. Use bubbles to find the hole.

• Dry the mat thoroughly.

• Use masking tape to mask a square around 1/2” or 1cm around the area.

• Dab a small blob of Stormsure glue onto some greaseproof paper.

• Use the narrow edge of a plastic spreader to apply glue to the area and work it in.

• Remove any excess with the spreader.

• Peel off the tape and allow 12 hours to cure.

Fixing Tears:

We don’t have a video for this but will work on one when we can. Here are the key points though.

  • Rinse your entire mat with fresh water, especially around the damaged area. Hang up and allow it to dry thoroughl and try to minimise the amount of water left in the mat.

  • Once dry, stretch the mat out and fix it to a hard, flat surface with masking tape or weights such a books. Make sure the mat isn’t stretched to the point that the tear is pulled open or distorted.

  • Cut a piece of repair material that is about 2” (4cm) wide and 2” (4cm) longer and wider than the damaged area. Round off any corners to reduce the risk of peeling.

  • Lager tears might need to be fixed together from inside with small pieces of masking tape inside the mat but use as few as necessary because they will stay in there!

  • Paint flexible repair glue such as Stormsure on to the area around the tear but leave a 1/16” (2mm) gap around the edge of the tear. Make sure that this is larger than the area of the repair patch.

  • Carefully place the repair patch on to the glue with the shiny side up ensuring that there are no wrinkles. The TPU laminated shiny side material won’t fix properly to the glue so make sure you are applying the rough side to the glue.

  • Place a piece of grease proof paper over the area and pile books on top of that the apply pressure and leave it for 24 hours.

  • The mat is now rideable but for bullet proof repairs, paint a bit of glue over the join beteen the patch and the mat to eliminate the risk of peeling. Again, leave this for 24 hours to cure.

Repairing Seam Welds

This video demonstrates how to repair failed seam welds. This issue rarely occurs but when it does is extremely straight forward to fix.

  • Prepare with a steam iron (empty of water), a book or flat smooth edge such as a place mat and a 1/4 ince thick pile of paper.

  • Heat up the iron.

  • Place the area to be welded on top of the pile of paper.

  • lace the book/edge on top of the mat over-lapping on to the seam to prevent welding the body of the mat.

  • Put a sheet of paper on top of the area to be welded.

  • Press down hard on the area with the iron and count to 10.

  • Practice with a scrap of fabric such as your repair patch befor e doing it on the mat!

 

FRESHENING UP YOUR GRIP

Rubberised Deck Grip (Lighter Weight Deck Materials):

The second type of grip is that used on lighter weight fabrics where polyurethane sealants are applied. You will find this kind or grip on Neumatics, G-Mats or Warpmats, the 4GF Blue Streaks previously sold through our store and on some of the emerging brands.  Over time the Grip will wear flat. It will still offer grip but if you want to get it back to its former glory then this video shows you how. We recommend using the sealants shown in the video rather than Vulkem 116 previously applied to Neumatics, as they release lower levels of VOC's.

Since the above video, G has posted an update on how to top up grip. See the video below. Everbuild Clear Fix is now available in the US from Amazon. Mat surfers in Mainland Europe can use Sikaflex 112 Crystal Clear which has the same properties and we are 99% sure is Clear Fix under a different brand.


Hot Wax Deck Grip (Canvas Deck Mats):

Over time, any type of grip will start to wear. The method for freshening it up differs depending on your mat. Canvas decked mats such as stock Forth Gear Flyer models respond well to a scrub with a stiff brush and a hot wax application. This is added to 4GF’s at the point of manufacture.  The video shows how to top this up or how to apply your own if you have a canvas decked mat of some other type, or if you think your 4GF was bought prior to the hot wax being developed. (Please note the high contrast of the video shows some residue, it is possible to have no wax visible by applying 2 very light coats).