Recently bought the Starboard Carve 2015 121L. Compared to my last board, I think the paint job is weak, possibly an inferior paint product. Being a free ride board one would think the design characteristic still has reasonable regard for durability, even paint. See attached photo and chip - I barely knocked the board and paint just flaked off. Any ideas how to repair?? Very disappointing.
If it flaked off like that it would suggest a greasy mark on it was not cleaned off well before the top coat went on. You can normally give it quite a bit of abuse and it will scratch of course but not just fall off from a knock.
Need good rub back to feather the edges of the hole, and clean with wax n grease remover then a respray.
Any good paint shop will be able to match that for u, in an auto touchup pressure pack. The paint won't be as durable as factory (ie: as hard) but at least it won't fall off 
It's only a relatively small chip. You will go to a lot of trouble getting the right paint and and then more work to paint it. Unless you do really top job then the repair will be noticeable and maybe more noticeable than the what you have now (speaking from experience).
Raid your wife's/girlfirend or mistresses nail polish kit. Or just buy some matching nail polish and touch it up. It will still be noticeable but probably only to you.
Might buy some Tamiya model paint. They sell the right colour (down to the name) in a 100ml can for $10. Supposedly hard.
I took my board into.a paint shop in mandurah. They made up cans of spray paint matched to the colour of the board. I then took those to the repairer.
They got used for the repair and I cant see the blend line. Yours might be different as its a spot.
my advice is if you havent done it before either have a practice on a banged up board first or get someone else to do it. Youre local windsurf shop could guide you to a competent fellow..
All good points and tips - the issue lies in the application of fillers(faring compounds and the thickness thereof) and the preparation and handling between coats of fillers, primers and top coats(colour & clear).
Also critical is time between coats and the profiling of the substrate prior to coating.
There are more variables..thermal expansion properties/coefficient of expansion and flexibility/elasticity, and to be honest I'd rather not share all trade secrets but each construction system is different so too the paint finish systems.
I'll give you all one important tip. When it comes to fillers and finishes, less is better.
There is art in every process so don't be hard on yourself if you **** it up. The pro's have ****ed up more than all of you which is why they have the skills.
Ps thanks Laurie for the auto-sanitising of cuss words otherwise I'm might be ****ing banned
I just fucing wanted to see how the anti swearing software works. Maybe some dumb ****ing little **** didn't use a primer. I guess the little ****ers making the board don't give a ****. Piss poor effort.
Nob jockey
Wanker
Kiter
Dickhead
Tamiya model paint - if it is called "fire red" or "red mid" etc etc and so is the Starboard one, then beware. It won't be a match, what matters is the paint code. The red on a Mustang is not the same as red on a Supra is it...
Starboard supply Pantone paint codes for all their boards (but I can't find a chart recent ones, anybody...?) and there will be about 50 reds in the Pantone colour swatches.
Also, hope you don't mean the Tamiya polycarbonate paints..... they are designed for just that, painting RC body shells and nothing else.
Anyway, forget those who say it is too hard, you only need to get paint that matches (not close - matches it) then sand the 5c sized hole out into a nice smooooottthhh 50c hole with no hard edges, clean reaallllyyy well and spray carefully with a few coats.
No not the polycarbonate stuff. Tamiya TS-36 looks close so will start there and look at other reds also. Thanks
Select to expand quoteMark _australia said...
Tamiya model paint - if it is called "fire red" or "red mid" etc etc and so is the Starboard one, then beware. It won't be a match, what matters is the paint code. The red on a Mustang is not the same as red on a Supra is it...
Starboard supply Pantone paint codes for all their boards (but I can't find a chart recent ones, anybody...?) and there will be about 50 reds in the Pantone colour swatches.
Also, hope you don't mean the Tamiya polycarbonate paints..... they are designed for just that, painting RC body shells and nothing else.
Anyway, forget those who say it is too hard, you only need to get paint that matches (not close - matches it) then sand the 5c sized hole out into a nice smooooottthhh 50c hole with no hard edges, clean reaallllyyy well and spray carefully with a few coats.
Some paint shops can't relate to Pannetone codes. Always best to take them a sample
If using a spray, can get a piece of thin cardboard and roughly tear a hole the size of a 20 cent piece in the middle. Hold the card about 25mm from the touch up area and spray the paint through the hole. Keep the can about 150mm away from the hole. Do lots of light coats. This will constrain the paint to the touch up area and give a feathered edge. A lot of paint will get on the card so be careful not to let it drip everywhere.
Also, the Tamiya acrylics I have sprayed through my airbrush onto models are easily scratched off with a thumbnail. So I am not sure how durable they are. Maybe a good sanding will help.
Select to expand quoteMan0verBoard said..
Some paint shops can't relate to Pannetone codes. Always best to take them a sample
True that
My paint shop is used to me dragging boards in 
Select to expand quoteP.C_simpson said...
Proper painters can mix paint colours by eye 
Sounds uncomfortable..
Hi,
I had an issue that could be related to this with a brand new Tabou 2 months ago (see below). A blister appeared on my second day of sailing, luckily I could swap it for another one in the shop.
Later on I read a couple of threads here discussing this topic, and realised it happens more often than you think (see below).
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/Small-bubble-on-top-deck-of-board/
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/Strange-fing-bubbles-on-my-board/
The osmosis theory makes sense. Not sure about your Starboard, but my Tabou and other JP’s have a silkscreened layer with all the artwork, which effectively behaves as a semipermeable membrane through which the moisture manages to go through. If you then happen to put the board in a board-bag inside the car and let it bake on a hot day, the moisture under the layer expands and causes a blister/bubble. After some time, the blister breaks and the detached film gradually comes off leaving a thin crater on the board without the graphics or colour.
I also noticed the other day in the shop that the JP boards now have a sticker warning “Not to put in a board-bag if wet” (I don’t remember the exact wording, but something along those lines).
COROLLARY: Try not put these new generation of boards in the board bag on a hot day 
We have found over the years the quality of painted products has decreased dramatically! In our case importing New helicopters from Europe and the USA. the paint just falls off same as your pic! Manufacturers and suppliers put it down to tightening EPA regulations ( rightly so too) thus requiring the use of products that are inferior in performance to old now outlawed ingredients. Tho i don't see this being an issue in products from Thailand and the sorts?
Select to expand quoteSin said...
Hi,
I had an issue that could be related to this with a brand new Tabou 2 months ago (see below). A blister appeared on my second day of sailing, luckily I could swap it for another one in the shop.
Later on I read a couple of threads here discussing this topic, and realised it happens more often than you think (see below).
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/Small-bubble-on-top-deck-of-board/
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/Strange-fing-bubbles-on-my-board/
The osmosis theory makes sense. Not sure about your Starboard, but my Tabou and other JP’s have a silkscreened layer with all the artwork, which effectively behaves as a semipermeable membrane through which the moisture manages to go through. If you then happen to put the board in a board-bag inside the car and let it bake on a hot day, the moisture under the layer expands and causes a blister/bubble. After some time, the blister breaks and the detached film gradually comes off leaving a thin crater on the board without the graphics or colour.
I also noticed the other day in the shop that the JP boards now have a sticker warning “Not to put in a board-bag if wet” (I don’t remember the exact wording, but something along those lines).
COROLLARY: Try not put these new generation of boards in the board bag on a hot day
That Tabou's graphics are digitally printed onto an adhesive plastic film then applied to the board, then gripped over.
If it gets knocked in the right way it can peel up - especially if warm or hot.
