Hey all. I am going to paint my newly shaped longboard with some classic stripes. I am using yellow Tempura paint on the foam and Liquitex from a tube for pin stripes on sanded hotcoat. My question is this …since I do not own and cannot afford a paint brush set up I’m going to use a foam brush to paint the stripes on the foam thinning the paint with Smart and Final acrylic floor sealer. Has anyone used this somewhat basic method? Any advice or comments are welcome as I have never done this before. Thanks to all.
When we first started out we used a somewhat similar method. A few things to note: buy a cheap dollar store bristle brush, the foam brush doesn’t get down into the little foam bubbles you often have, also don’t thin the paint too much, it will bleed under the tape, finally don’t go to thick on the paint, just enough to cover the foam, otherwise you often get crystallization. For a basic stripe this method will be okay.
Richard:
Good points from Austin. Also, don’t skimp on the quality of tape and the care you take in pressing it down on your blank. Nothing worse than peeling that tape and finding that your paint bled past your line. A cheap $15. airbrush with canned air or even a rattle can of water based latex is an option to consider instead of a brush.
Tom S.
Richard,
I paint all my boards with acrylic and a cheap brush. If you try the sponge brushes and don’t like the look you can always paint over it. Not too thick, though. I use poscas on the hotcoat for pinlines and funky “art.”
I used a Preval sprayer. Its is a mixing bottle w/ a replaceable air cartridge on top - essentially spray can you mix the paint for. Available at many hardware stores for only
Quote:
$6.00. I sprayed my rails and it worked great.
Howzit tomas, To make sure the tape stays down on the foam I vacuum the areas of the blank that I’ll be taping off. Get one of those round brush attachments for a home vac, not the ones for shop vacs. You’ll be amazed how well the tape sticks. Aloha, Kokua
TSaunders is my dad tomas i post under AustinS. just to clear up any confusion. Austin S.
Thanks too all for the input. Every bit of it useful. I think I’ve gone mental. I find myself thinking about my surfboard project at work, when I’m trying to sleep, in the morning before I get out of bed…!!! Yikes. But I am truly enjoying the journey. I’m only on board #2 but find myself thinking about, plotting, scheming for board #3. Has anyone else felt this way??
Richard, welcome to the state of mind, it’s why we are all here. Sometimes thinking about the next board is the only thing that gets me through the day at work.