Painting a black surfboard

General Discussion
1

Hello,

I would like to know your opinion about a process that I’ll do to paint a board. The board is used, white, and I will paint it black. It will be painted completely, only the logos zones and a patch of carbon in the middle of the bottom will stay as they are.

For painting I thought of two options:

1- Spray gun: which type of paint to use? I was thinking about acrylic or cellulose enamel (I’m from Portugal, maybe the names wil vary), I would give 2 layers and wet sand it to keep it flat;

2 - Spray can: I was thinking of using Montana cans (acrylic-based); 

After being painted (between paint and varnish I’ll wet sand to stay without ups and downs), I will give 2-3 layers of varnish, also with spray gun. Here one more question, which type of varnish to use? I was thinking about an acrylic / polyurethane varnish.

The process I thought I’d do was:

  • Prepare before painting (clean the board, remove the wax);

  • Sanding with water 220gr / 400gr before painting for the ink to grasp;

  • Paint with Spray gun / Can (2-3 layers and wet sand between them);

  • Give the varnish with Spray gun (2-3 layers and wet sand between them);

  • At the end give some polishing compound, with a wool bonet, just to give a bit of shine;

First of all, I still thought about making a Hot / Gloss Coat with black pigment, but I think it would cause problems when I remove the tape in the areas of the logos (it would be difficult to take the tape in due time). The board would also be heavier in this case.

Thanks!

2

If you really really want to paint your board black , save yourself a lot of time and energy and take it to the local auto paint shop , thay can do a much better job using modern auto paint , in a fraction of the time and it will look a whole lot better than you can do . good luck .

3

If you’ve got a spray gun, then take a bit of gbzauza’s advice (sorry if I spelled your handle wrong gb). You can spray it yourself with automotive paint. Use a 2 part urethane enamel for a nice, hard finish. Spray a “duster” coat first, lightly covering the board, then fill it with a second coat after the duster dries a bit.

4

Respect for all the thought in the planning, but if you’re painting a finished board you might as well use Krylon unless you’re worried about contact with the baord causing scratches (Krylon will slowly wear away over time, at contact points). Also, probably nobody said this because it’s obvious: if you want delams, black is a great way to go…