Hi guys
Brought my shiney, so, so, shiney Naish 11'4" Nalu up to Crescent from Tasmania. (I'm an old Cres lad from way back).
Cut the story short to save a kids life because they though the safest place to paddle in the face of 4 foot high whitewash is directly behind a sup rider 
, I jumped on the tail and kicked out while falling off the back to get her over the wash and not decapitate the idiot behind me 
.
In the process my kialoa shaka transcribed a delightful arc across my virgin deck, thankfully just scratch mostly but a few bits slightly indented 
.
Anyone have any suggestions how to polish the scratches out without making the gloss coat patchy??
Cheers
Dave
If the scratch has any depth to it you will need to sand it out. Some 1200grit wet should do the trick, then a medium cut compound on a polishing machine should cut the surface back to smooth and shiney.
Otherwise you could just hit the deck with a decent cuting compound (T-Cut is good for one you can buy retail, if you know a panel beater get some meduim cut 3m stuff). It wont get rid of the scratch but might get it all shiney enough that only you will really notice it.
Other option, take it on the chin and talk up a much better story about how it happened...
Welcome to the Breeze Dave.. 
.. This should work..
Click here.. www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=36419
This is another brand.. 
DJ
Once you've done the Magic Eraser make sure you do this..
Click here.. www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=51980&SearchTerms=Taping,your,paddle
DJ
When you think about it the scars on your board will be:
- marks on the surface that can be removed with solvent cream cleanser, polish, or a scourer
- minor gouges into the surface that can be smoothed or feathered using an abrasive or cutting compound or the like.
- major grooves that have to be sanded and filled and painted.
Most minor blemishes can be reduced using elbow grease and an abrasive cleaning pad and a cleaner or polishing compound.
Anything more than that and you are startnig to dick around with major cosmetic repairs. It's quite difficult to spray touch up and to get it to adhere nicely and blend well. You can get your local ding repairer to do the work but the cost is going to push $60-100.
The best thing is to view surf gear as consumable items and just surf the bejeesus out of it. Wear the ****er out then buy a new one.
As DJ says, taping your paddle is critical in ensuring the longievity of your paddle as well as anything it might hit (like boards, legs, heads etc)
