QUOTE (Real Pol - 18/02/2010 @ 16:45)
I disagree. I've always found it cheaper in resorts especially if you are just getting a wax. Also they're more experienced than a UK shop that may only do a few dozen boards a season as opposed to one that's doing that sort of volume a day/week.
I got a complete service for my board in Austria a couple of weeks ago, 45 Euros. I'm not sure what they did. I had a big scrape in the base which I'd filled with p-tex a while ago. I asked if a grind would sort it out and as there were a number of scrapes it may sort that out. The guy said that they'd heat the board, take out the scrapes and refill the big scrape with something other than p-tex. As the base is hot or even slightly melted (I could have been understanding him wrong at this point) the new stuff will bind with the base properly. If it wasn't for the crappy p-tex still in the base you woudn't have noticed that there had been a big gouge out it. I'd be interested to know the process that went on here. He also waxed and edged it.
Personally I'd buy a couple of edging tools. It's really easy to do and edging is reasonably pricey, you'll have made your money back in a couple of weeks....or a couple of decades in your world!
P-tex, or whatever other filling material is used, will bind much better to a base that's hot than one that is at room temp - not sure exactly how hot or what equipment they use to do this but I've seen DIYers use small blow torches (like the ones chefs use) to heat the base before applying new p-tex. I used to do DIY p-texing on small holes and some of them worked albeit they looke cr@p, but others, particularly those near the metal edge, just didn't last.
Personally, I leave repairs to the servicing shops, but I do like to do my own waxing and edgin.