I recently bought a second hand surfboard that is in great condition. It will be a gift for a friend. I would like to clean it up a bit as it has finger marks on the bottom from years of handling it with dirty hands, previous owner is a handy man. What product will be save to use on the board? Any suggestions welcome.
acetone, but wear gloves so you don’t get any on you - it’s nasty stuff. you can get it at any hardware store.
what kind of finish is it? on a sanded finish I’d just use a green scrub pad or some really fine sandpaper.
IMHO using solvents is wasteful for cleaning up a board. Put the board in the sun and warm it up. Scrape the excess wax off with a plastic squeege and then take a leg off an old pair of patty hose, fill it with foam dust and tie off the ends. Rub the board with it and it’ll strip all the old wax off. From there on a scotch-brite pad and some GooJoo with some elbow-grease and a little water will get the job done just fine. Mahalo, Rich
If the board has a decent polish to it I’d hit it with a razorblade after the squeegee/wax comb… you might be amazed how much wax you can get off. Doesn’t work well on the sanded hotcoat though
Use everything that was suggested, but DON’T USE ACETONE! Enough acetone on cured resin and the surface will start to get soft. Acetone will slowly dissolve the surface, then you’ll really have a mess.
clean it up as best as you can and shoot it with a nice clear coat. that will seal up any structural problems…best gift someone can get, a free board…keep up the stoke
Stay away from the acetone. Not only does it soften the polyester, it dissolves any spray finnish. Warm the wax in the sun or with a hairdrier and scrape it off. Credit cards work well as scrapes. Then remove the rest with an oil based cleaner/solvent like citrus oil, terpentine, white spirit, etc. regards, Håvard
I warm the board in the sun, scrape the wax off with a wax comb, and then use Bug and Tar remover for a clean finish. It can be picked up at any automotive store.
I warm the board in the sun, scrape the wax off with a wax comb, and then use Bug and Tar remover for a clean finish. It can be picked up at any automotive store.