Say it isn't so!! Ski is junk from handle ding????

[skifan]

Just wanted to see how many Ballers have faced this. I popped the handle after turning one ball last night and the handle destroyed my ski. You can see in the pictures that it split the ski at the top seam and you can see the core. Paul Crawford from D3 was great, he got right back to me but said that they don't repair skies. Which I can understand this for liability reasons. He also said that the core may be fractured. I don't think that's ever a good thing to hear.

 

Have any of you had this happen and what did you do? Did you say the hell with it and get another ski or did you try to fix it yourself? If you fixed it yourself how did you do it?

 

Thanks for the help.

 

 

[thager]

Bummer! That would be a fix it myselfer. JD Weld. What kind of handle do you use? The ones with end caps outside the rope triangle without padding are famous for ski dings!

[Razorskier1]

JB Weld. Put it on thick and sand it down. I've done it with multpile skis and it works great.

[h2onhk]

JB Water Weld also works very well. Its an epoxy putty and is not quite as fluid is regular JB weld. Stays were you put it and is a little less messy. $5 on amazon.

[DW]

@skifan: bummer on the damage. Another repair option would be to use carbon fiber cloth + epoxy resin. You can source that through US Composites, they tend to be the price leaders & have lots of options. You certainly want to make sure you seal the core from external water intrusion.

[mwetskier]

i would flow a little west epoxy into the crack first -it has a low viscosity and will help bond your repair to the core and also seal the core. after a few hours but while the west epoxy is still tacky add the jb weld so the two epoxys will blend and bond to each other. lastly rough shape the jb weld very close to your desired finished surface before it gets too hard.

[eleeski]

It's a ding, relax. A JB Weld fix should be fine. The cores are reasonably water resistant and the structure is robust. Your ski should be fine.

 

No, wait. The ski is shot. Send it to me for proper disposal.

 

Eric

[Horton]

@skifan it partly depends on your skiing level - how much you stress the ski. Chances are an epoxy patch is fine to stop further damage but the structural damage is done. I error on the side of caution and would not ski on that ski again but in all reality it will most likely be fine.

 

In the picture it looks like the ding is about 12 inches forward of the front binding? If it is much farther back than that I would be less happy about it.

 

If you can peel up the top laminate a little I would also be less trusting of the ski. If the damage is almost all in the side wall you should be fine.

[skialex]

I would fix this myself.

@eleeski if you are looking for partners in the proper disposal business I can take over the Europeam segment B)

[lpskier]

We had a skier show up at LaPoint's Ski Park this spring with a ski that the airlines had broken in two about six inches from the ski. Kris fixed it that night and our skier used it the rest of his stay. The core was fractured and the tip was flapping. So, no matter how damaged it is, your ski is not necessarily a goner.

[Glydon]

I just knew that people would be preaching JB weld on this one , the fact remains that product is UNREAL for fixing all kinds of stuff. Good luck and please post a pic AFTER the repair. I have like someone else posted used marine epoxy with great success on a ski's sidewall , sanded it down and then a little touch up paint , you could not tell and that ski is still going strong 10 seasons later!

[Stevie Boy]

@Glydon have a good think about it, when skis break people get hurt, some get hurt a little, some get hurt real bad, what value do you put on your Achillies, Ankle/Knee or leg bones, skis have to deal with a lot of pressure, take the area of you ski in square inches and then multiply by 300 to 400 pounds then think about it again.

Ski Safe

[ForrestGump]

marineTex will fix that right up. I've repaired numerous skis WAYYYYYY worse than that. I will typically mask off the area around it. You can open up the split and inject the clear marinetex in with a large syringe. Then clamp it back into place with a C clamp and wood blocks. Easily fixed in one evening and if you take your time you'll never see it afterwards.

[ALPJr]

Second for Marine Tex

[OldboyII]

@skifan see my posts from Aug 16th and later in this thread .

Same issue with the ski which used few weeks.

In a few days I'm going to show final result of repair.

 

[OTF]

I JB weld my whole ski as soon as I buy it, saves time fixing down the road

[skifan]

@OTF That's funny. Wait your are joking right?

[skifan]

For those of you who say it's an easy fix PM me and we can talk price. The ski is great shape otherwise.

[OTF]

@skifan LOL, yes. I am a sarcastic bastard. I did apply a bunch on @thagers Razor after i stole it for a month and handle dinged it 5-6 times. Hey @thager, that ski is pretty much shot, I'll give you $50 for it?

[skibug]

Been there and done that. I have used a bunch of the products mentioned but I have found 2 part epoxy is the best fix and it has a higher strength rating than JB weld, etc. Actually, JB Weld makes a clear 2 part epoxy. The advantage of the 2 part epoxy is that it will flow into damaged area.

[ALPJr]

I used Marine Tex to repair an EP trick ski about 30 years ago. It's still good.

[thager]

Sorry @OTF Hit the Razor with a BFH and all the JB fell off. Sold it out of country for $800.00

[Glydon]

@Stevie Boy I never said I used JB Weld, I said I know people were going to chime in with it , I used a 2 part marine epoxy which is resin , that "cures" itself, which is what a ski is made out of to begin with , which is why it is still going 10 years later. Am I using it ? No Would I ? Yes definitely.

[Stevie Boy]

@Glydon I was just trying to point out that if something loses its structual integrity, you have to carry out a risk assesment, do you want to take the hit financialy or gamble with your anatomy it is a individual decision, but as you get older you get wiser, there are a few occasions I wish I had taken the financial hit, it would have been so much easier, why make it hard ?

I have seen a lot of ski equipment cobbled together over time, it still amazes me today what some people are prepared to ski on, even when their binding is falling apart they will gaffer tape it together to save a few sheckles, but Hey if they are happy, what the hell, enjoy .

[Glydon]

@Stevie Boy I concur.

 

[OldboyII]

@skifan could you post picture which shows how far damaged area from tip of the ski?

If it is not on the very tip it is a big risk to use this ski, as many ballers mentioned.

2nd - if you decide to fix this ski, you must keep it for very long period in the dry place to let all moisture go away. To speed up this I would recommend to put the ski tip in the bag with Silica Gel for few days.

High quality silica gel crystals you may find in the pet shop - it is one of of cats toilet fillers.

[pumpinpete]

+1 @skibug clear 2 part epoxy works for me

[Fatroll]

I did that to my old Sixam when it was 4 weeks old. I used jb weld and it lasted several years without issue. I used a ton of it and sanded it down. I had no other financial option at that time.

[skifan]

@OldboyII the ding is about 9" from the tip and 18" from the front binding. I watched video of my skiing and that part of the ski hits the wake every time I cross. Not feeling confident that I will be able to trust jb weld to keep it together under that condition. Luckily I have other options.

[Bdecker]

@skifan I repaired an x5 with similar damage years ago and it was fine. That said, you'll love the new ARC!

[skifan]

@Bdecker Thanks, I hope so. I'm gonna let the Quest dry out a bit more and try to fix it for a back up. You must ski with Mike?

[OldboyII]

It is not loaded area of the ski, maximum you can get will be another crack in the same area from the rope if repair failed.

I would use simple flowable two component epoxy, open crack a bit to let epoxy get in.

Then wrap ski with clear kitchen wrap. Above it wrap as tight as possible with clear transparent Scotch Tape - it will press epoxy inside ski like vacuum bag and will keep shape of the edge.

Next day take wrapping away and sand extra epoxy out.

No big deal if you do not care about cosmetics.

[skifan]

@OldboyII Thanks for the advice. Sounds like a good process to use. If the ski is fiberglass why wouldn't you use a fiberglass resin and hardener to fill the void instead of two part epoxy or JB Weld? Not trying to argue just curious.

[OldboyII]

In this particular case, the rule is: the simpler - the better.

Epoxy is just enough. When it will soak into ski core and destroyed fiberglass you will get "composite structure" automatically ))

[skibug]

@skifan a lot of the prototyping that goes on with skis, like when they cut slots to widen the ski etc., they use 2 part epoxy. Stronger, better bonding especially for a ding like that where the epoxy can flow into all the small extents of the fracture.

[skifan]

Got it. Thanks

[Bdecker]

@skifan, sure do. Mike's good at keeping our shed full of D3's. I have a couple 67's I'm anxious to move... You'll love the ARC, fix the quest and keep it as a backup or sell on Ski-it-again.

[eleeski]

OK, I've gotten chided for assuming things about layups on factory skis, but this is ridiculous. It's a handle ding!

 

The core is (probably) not open cell foam so It did not sponge up water. Blow it out with compressed air and warm it with a heat gun and let it cool down and it will be dry enough. Epoxy is stronger than foam so even if the core is fractured the repaired core will be adequate strength (and only a gram or two heavier for a small repair).

 

The skin looks intact so you have close to all of your fibers still there. Fresh epoxy will lock those fibers into place and there will be no strength issues there.

 

Some skis do get strength from the sidewall. But out on the tip, there is not much load. And the ski is wide there so edge effects are a smaller portion of the load bearing.

 

There are many good epoxies. JB Weld is a quality product. It does have added thickeners so it requires some heat to get it to wick into deep cracks but a heat gun thins it out very nicely. You have a long work time (don't waste time if you added heat) and cures overnight (unless it's really cold). Marine tek is a quality epoxy putty. Great for finish fills but it won't penetrate into the core. Superfil is an extremely lightweight putty, a bit slow to cure and kind of hard to work with but magic for big light fills that are great for long term fixes.

 

 

 

Now this is a handle ding. I'm not sure how old the ski is or the damage - but it's old. And it's the ski I'm currently using on my comeback. No need to fix it except those jagged edges might scratch.

 

You probably don't need to fix your ding at all. Certainly ski the next round of the tournament or special day at the lake on it.

 

If you mask and clamp really well you might be able to fix it well enough to dupe some unsuspecting buyer - but that would be unethical. And why did you buy a ski just to sell it? Enjoy the ski and wear the ding badge with honor.

 

Eric

[Bdecker]

Just for clarity, my suggestion to fix and sell includes disclosing damage and repair to buyer- you won't get top dollar so I'd lean towards backup ski. But Eric's right, it'll ski just fine.

[skialex]

I totally agree with @eleeski, top and bottom outside sheets are vinyl, the fibers of the carbon sheets are probably intact, you probably don't even have to wait for it to dry. Mask it, glue it, clamp it and finally sand it and it would be good as new. Or leave it as is and it's still going to be good for skiing.

Alex,

[mylemsky]

@Bdecker blue or yellow arc's

[Bdecker]

@mylemsky - I have a yellow which was my current ride until I blew up for the season yesterday. The other 67" skis I have are Helix H2 and Fusion.