How to: ghetto fab delam/edge separation fix

Ever picked up a pair of Gotamas for cheap at an REI used gear sale and didn’t initially notice they had a delam/edge separation issue near a compressed edge. Well, if so, this ghetto fab how-to is for you.

Today’s target:

Materials needed:

Slow cure epoxy (marine epoxy preferred as it’s more pliable when cured, however any slow cure can get the job done)

Clamps

Mixing dish/paper cup or slice of cardboard

Couple little doohickeys and whatnots to help spread the epoxy into the area in question

Latex gloves

Beer (the beer is of the utmost importance as you’ll see below.

Two pieces of wood to use on top/bottom of area to be fixed to help spread force of clamp evenly (not seen in this pic)

Step 1: Put on flip flops. This is important as you’ll be more relaxed and Zen-like, becoming one with the blown ski.

Step 2:
Mix epoxy in your cup. No photos taken of this step as it’s pretty obvious, but keep mixing it until the epoxy and hardener can no longer be distinguished from one another.

Step 3:
Wedge area to be fixed open slightly with a thin object. Flathead screwdriver or a putty knife work well. Once area is wedged open fill with epoxy, trying to spread around inside the damaged area. The goal here is to maximize epoxy to core surface area so that you’re getting the best adhesion possible. Depending on the type of epoxy you are using you can heat it slightly to thin it out a bit so that it fills in the area better.

Step 4:
Put a piece of wood on the top/bottom of the area to be fixed and clamp down. You’ll notice that epoxy will squirt out of the fix. I recommended wiping that epoxy up as best you can so that those wood blocks aren’t attached to your skis once the epoxy cures. You can also wax the areas you don’t want epoxy to stick to ahead of time, but in my case I was trying to crank through (never a good thing, take your time if you can!) the fix as I had to make it to an appointment. Step 4 is also where the beer comes into play. If you just noticed that your area to be fixed is LARGER than you first thought and now have to revert to step 1 again stop cursing a take a sip of your beer and hum a little Bob Marley to relax. The beer also comes in handy when you notice you somehow managed to get epoxy on the eye cup for your camera.

Now you just let your clamped skis/snowboard sit overnight undisturbed while the epoxy cures. Tomorrow undo clamps, mount up, bring to local hill and have fun. If your edge is compressed, as mine is, you may want to consider making that edge your outside edge.