Refurbishing an old Board

I am a Professional Photographer.  I am taking old surfboards and repairing them and then putting one of my photographs printed on vinyl on the deck.  The first board I did i repaired all the dings and then used firberglass to repair each compression dent on the deck.  This was time consuming.  I need to have a smooth surface to lay the glossy vinyl on the deck.

 

Would a better approach be to just sand down the deck and then put a new hot coat on the complete deck.  Will that level out the compression dents and provide me a smooth surface.  I then would san and paint the hiot coat and then pjut a Gloss coat over that to sand and polish. 

 

Any thought or suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

 

Thanks 

Are these boards being ridden or are they art pieces?

Beechan,

No way around it:

 

1) sand board

2) layer 2x6 or 2 x4, or mabee bee just 6 on top of board

3) hot coat

4) sand mess flat

5) gloss

6) plouish to a shieenu finissh

The first one that I did was for Art Work for a reception for the Surfers Healing Foundation/Artist Gallery at this years ECSC in Virginia Beach. 

 

I would like to make the next one usable even though it is mor art but someone may want to use it.

 

I have attached a picture of the one that I did for the reception.

There are different options, you probably need to experiment a bit to find what works fastest / easiest and most practical for your needs.

For a board that is to be ridden, the method used on your first board is probably one of the best ways. 

And Resinhead gives good advice, always.

You can mix resin with thickening agents like cabosil or q-cell to fill in dings. 

http://host0140.csmhosting.com/iwwida.pvx?;products?comp=FS1

http://host0140.csmhosting.com/iwwida.pvx?;products?comp=FS1

I have used spackle to fill in pressure dings, when I knew I would be re-glassing over everything.  I have also used bondo, which is heavy, for the same thing.  2 oz. glass is good for re-glassing over an already glassed board, where you're trying to clean it up, not necessarily add more strength.

Like I say, there are a variety of different approaches, but fixing dings properly and filling dents with glass is the best way, in my opinion, especially if the board is to be ridden, or used as a base for photographic art and sold for a respectable price.

BTW, there are some young guys in the Virginia Beach area that IIRC are looking for ding repair work, you can contact them through spencer444 on swaylocks http://www2.swaylocks.com/user/spencer444

Thanks all.  I was looking for a less painful solution but it appears that if I want it right which I do then I have to do it right.

I have sanded the board, fixed all the dings and pressure dents with fiberglass, applied the hot coat and it is now sanded.  Before I apply the gloss coat and then the laminated vinyl wrap on the deck I want to change the color of the board.  I have seen everything on the Internet from brushes and rollers to spray paint bought at Walmart.  Many years ago I was an auto body painter so I have all the equipment  and know how to spray paint.  I have read that I can spray paint over the HOT coat before applying the gloss coat with acrylic water based paint.  Have to be carful sanding the gloss coat with this approach.

Or should I use Montana paint on the HOT coat and then apply clear coats over that.

Want it to last and be a professional looking board when I am done.

 

Thanks for any advice.

Acrylics will fade over time.

 

How important is the ‘canvas’? - with all the time/work done to patch and prep old boards, then to end up covering the whole deck with a photo-  Have you looked into having a new board made for this purpose? Especially if it’s not going to be surfed you might be surprised how cheap it could be done

There is a couple of reasons why I just don't buy a new board.

 

1.    I am saving an old surfboard from the land fill which is a good thing.

2.    Winter is my slow months doing outdoor photography and events here is Virginia Beach.  My wife has early Alzheimers so I can't travel that much anymore to take photos.  The work to repair these boards keeps me busy and sane plus provides a different type of income.

3.   Even though I put the vinyl wrapped photo on the whole deck I want to have the boards usuable as well just in case someone is crazy enough to want me to put a special photo of themselves on their board.

4.   I do need the deck smooth so that the vinyl wrap adheres well and also it is not wavy.  You can hide some wavy parts if you are painting a surfboard but now if you are laying vinyl.

What type paint would you recommend.

Seeing you got the sprayer and all..Linear Polyurathane (sp),  Boat paint.  Lots of colors and durable tough,  You could use sandable a high build epoxy primer, then shoot 2 light coats of LP.  Then do your wrap thing.

 

It wont fade.