im trying to figure everything out before i start making my board…and i was wondering when do you airbrush or paint the board?–before you glass it? and what type of paint should i use? and what type of foam is the best to use? thanks for your help
You can airbrush directly on the foam after final shaping, or you could airbrush after the hotcoat has been sanded, but most do it on the foam. Use acrylic based paint thinned to the consistency of milk. Liquitex is a good brand. As far as foam goes, Clark or Walker blanks are what you should use.
Shaping is far from rocket science, but don’t underestimate this project… it can be a lot the first couple of times. If you aren’t comfortable with airbrushing, you might concider postponing that until board 2 or 3… it’s just one more thing to go wrong, one more thing to worry about and tiptoe around. Airbrushing isn’t hard, but it takes some practice: the gun can clog, you mix your paint poorly, it’s hard to get an even coat, you can put prints on it, you can put it on too thick, you get overspray where you didn’t mask off, your mask can peel up a bit and ruin your perfect line, it crystalizes, it accentuates some little blemish that you left in the foam… it also draws more attention to a poor glass job. Not to push you away from it, but just consider printing out a logo on some rice paper for #1, there’ll be other boards.
thanks for the help… im not airbrushing hte whole board…i have a logo that i am gonna make into a stencil type thing…would just that work? and then glass over that?
I wouldn’t stencil the logo onto the foam - seen it done and it looks terrible, it’s hard to get detail on foam. if you do use a stencil, I suggest painting it after sanding the hot coat. Now - the way most do it - is to print/draw onto some rice paper which you can get at your local art supply or craft store (or online at foamez, etc - but it’s much more expensive) do not use ink!! it will run when you apply the gloss coat. If you do want to use some sort of pen - use “ZIG Memory systems - Opaque writer” pens, - works SUPERB! no worries about running. You could also use this pen on the hotcoat after sanding. This is what I use for penlines, signing, touchups, etc. If you need to make corrections, the markings can be removed with acetone. If you’re careful not to disturb the rice paper soon (10 - 20 seconds) after applying resin to laminate it, you can use the rice paper with a computer design printed out via lazerjet printer (not inkjet!!). Be careful though, after about 20 seconds of contact, the lazer toner (“ink”) will begin to mix with the resin - so no movement or touching after this time! Remember - ALWAYS use a test piece when trying something new to check for compatability!! Good luck