Silver colour on a surfboard

General Discussion
1

 

I've been ask to do a special surfboard. A good client of mine wants a silver surfboard. More precisely, the Silver Surfer surfboard!!!

It has a very special meaning to him and it is a really interesting challenge to me.

There are thousands of spray paints and pigments that can reproduce that silver effect, but none of them get that final shining reflection.

Spray painting is out of the question due to very bad past experiences. Despite that in the end silver is really a light grey colour, I believe pigment is the way to go.

 

My question and doubt is how to get the previously mentioned shining reflection of silver?

Heard about a guy that mixed aluminium (saw) dust with the hot coat to create that. It was in an art exhibition, do you think it’s possible in a surfboard? Durability? Weight?

 

Did anyone tried to get this effect before?

 

Thank you.

 

2

my gut reaction has me thinking mylar, but I have no idea if it will work, or is compatable with whatever resin you are using.

3

Pico, that is exactly the effect I pretend to get.

The first serious problems that I remember are delamination and overheating of the foam due to the plastic its proprieties.

Even so, it’s without a doubt an interesting material to test.

Thank you.

4

you can get silver shadow cloth

http://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/p-1817-silvershadow-t-290g-twill-weave-1mt-wide.aspx

 

5

That would be awesome, a sliver board! Post photos after it’s done. Hope it doesn’t attract barracudas jejeje… Oh, and I guess it must be a glass on single fin gunny egg without a leash attachment right?

6

 

hehehe

hope so, still not sure

lets see how he wants it

if not I make one for my quiver

7

Search for

Silver Hexcel Texalium

8

I don’t know why I would try to help recreate some guys flippin’ movie fantasy but here goes;  Two things come to mind immedialtly;  There is a Mylar type product that is paper backed.  I believed it’s intended purpose was for a wallcovering.  It would have to be vacum bagged.  One layer of cloth under, one layer over.  Two or four ounce. Adhesion over the Mylar side would be a problem.  Obviously it can not be sanded. So check your local Du-lux store for a Mylar wallcovering,  Second;  There is a fiberglass fabric that Rennie Yater used on some boards a few years back.  I believe it was aluminum coated, something alomg those lines,  I saw a board in the Beach House in Santa Barbara.  It had an “Aircraft Aluminum” look to it.  I would say that if you can find out what that product was;  it would be your best bet.  Seamed like it was called “Textillium” or some $@!t like that.  Wade at Fibeglass Hawaii in Ventura would probably remember the fabric/product name.  I believe they sold it for awhile.  That is probably your best bet.  Othewise you maybe able to use an automotive “metal flake” paint.  Silver Surfer was digitalized.  You will never get some flashy thing that will blind people at the beach,  Oh I’ll tell you one technique that would be disappointing;   “Pearlesque”  forget it.  Oh!  Maybe he can get that guitar player(what was his name?) to follow him around at the beach playing theme music.  Bet he doesn’t surf for $#!t.  It’s always the guys who can’t surf that want the attention getters.  Might be worth a call to FGH or an email.  Make sure you charge him enough,  I would think $5 or $10 thousand US would be about right.  Lowel

9

These guy make products that work on a plastic surface to create a mirror chrome or silver effect. It has to be painted on a absolutely smooth substrate like a glossed and polished finish on a surfboard for the effect to work. The highend version works the best and is quite an investment time and money wise, so you’re better off finding an automtive refinisher that uses the system and have them do it for you. The spray can version is cheaper but it might be a challege to cover a complete surfboard with it and the results can vary.

http://www.alsacorp.com/

There are other companies that make similar systems out there. You can google search for them.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAgT1huicqI]

Here’s a Brewer Tow-in made of nickel:

http://www.iainclaridge.co.uk/blog/781

 

10

Mr Barbudas  , many years ago we used to make boards with glitter on the bottom , it was very effective , after shaping and sanding the blank we would use a brush to spread a very thin coat of catalized resin and then just sprinkle on the glitter powder , it did not matter if you put on too much as only the layer touching the resin would stick , when the resin dried you can shake off the extra leaving a coating of glitter ,  ( the glitter came in different colours and different grades ) , then just lay on the cloth as usual and laminate and gloss , the cloth of course becomes transparent and the glitter catches the light from all angles it is very eye catching and much brighter than painting the blank  silver as silver is quite dark at some angles . I cant remember where we got the glitter but I suspect you could get it from an auto paint supply shop , it is used to make metal flake paint jobs . There is a process used in the auto paint bus where they can spray on a very shiny chrome like finish on to a plastic surface , so if the board was glossed and polished it could be primered and sprayed with this process , but I dont know off the top of my head who does it , I have seen some motorcycle helmets that look like chrome but are obviously not made of steel . Hope this helps . T

11

I did a silver board years ago. It was sprayed in my furniture shop. I sanded to 320. Shot a coat of black lacquer. Then shot silver lacquer standing way back so it was almost overspray. Followed up with a coat of clear acrylic…scuffed it with red scotchbrite and glossed with Reichold gloss resin.

   I do have a pro spray booth and HVLP equipment. It was actually pretty easy.

  I know most of you don’t have the tools to do this but I thought it may interest yo

   I messed around with silver leaf also but gave up. Not saying it won’t work though.

12

If you use the Texalium it will give more of a silver carbon fiber look.  Not a reflective mirror finish.  The tex has a shiney side and a not as shiney side.  You got to look carefully and make sure you put the right side up.  If you gloss the board it might give the impression of shiney but it will still have that 2x2 twill carbon weave look.

It looks very high tech but I’m pretty sure it’s just 8 oz. E cloth coated with aluminum.  From my limited use I’ve found that it isn’t very hand laminate friendly.  The cloth is stiff from the weave and doesn’t conform to sharp edges at all.  It is more suited for bagging.

If you want a durable mirror finish I’d go wth 2 pac auto paint.  Very shiney, very durable, and very very toxic.

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My test pannel-clock-board for silver powder added to sanding coat. It does sink in the resin and you have to use a lot. I did put it in the lam on a gun and it looked more sparkley-grey.

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Created by Australian designed Marc Newson, the most expensive surfboard
is one of ten such boards created as pieces of art. That doesn’t mean
that they’re just there to look pretty, though. The 5 foot boards were
plated in nickel and polished to a mirror finish to reduce drag. Newson
originally sold them for $100,000 apiece.

http://most-expensive.net/surfboard

15

Surfboards have lines that please the eye…this goes beyond the surfers. I live in Savannah,GA which is home to one of the best art schools in the world. I have seen some amazing things done with boards. I have taken old beaters and grainpainted them to look like wood and sold them as wall art.

     Another artist approached me about building 20 boards that would all be painted flat white and suspended from the ceiling using clear monofilament fishing line in a modern loft office. It never happened but was a cool concept.

   Some of the boards I am seeing around on the blogs are approaching what I would call “art”. Swaylocks had a lot to do with it. The new crop of young ones (whom I jokingly call Hipster Shapers) are doing some interesting things. Just my rant for the day.    RB

16

There is some negative sentiment here against “boutique surfboards”, artsy surfboards that sell for big ticket prices, but I think it is a legitimate direction in these times.  Computer numeric mass-production, underpaid overseas labor, corporate domination of what was once a cottage industry, have all spelled the end for shaping daily drivers as a career choice. The pundits tell us that while the middle class continues to disappear, and while the general public has less and less disposable income, the few wealthy at the top of the food chain have more disposible income than ever before.

Granted, a handful of talented guys have made a living, and some continue to do so, but the career options are shrinking.  People like Greg Noll, John Peck, Rennie Yater, just to name a few, are now producing “collectible” boutique surfboards that sell for thousands, and are probably valued more for their investment and aesthetic value than for their performance in the surf.

The surfboard I posted was sold originally for $100K in a very limited edition.  When one of these later went up for auction at Sotheby’s, it sold for $220K.

17

As atomized suggested, Alsa is the best place to go for true silver/chrome-look finishes for plastics.  The original poster did say spray-painting was not an option which is a shame considering the effect he’s trying to achieve would most easily be accomplished with paint.

However, Alsa also a chrome film that can supposedly be applied to darn near anything.  I haven’t used it myself, but I’ve always been impressed with the performance of their products.  Might be worth checking out.

18

rcgroups.com has an interesting thread on chroming, but its sprayed on stuff…

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1164293

19

I’ve had a pretty good result with Nova-Color Acrylic paint. Super durable. Can easily be glossed over. After polish, looks good.

The paint has a Pearlesent quality to it. Fairly inexpensive. This is my “Silver-Bullet” Knee paddeler. Looks very “Silver” in the right light.

The other board was done with Stainless Steel paint by Nova as well. The green and silver gun has 6oz. cloth that I sprayed Nova Silver directly on the dry cloth and inlayed it like normal cloth. Looks like Texalium at a fraction of the cost. Just not as strong.

Good Luck,

Barry Snyder

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20

lavarat , that is nice !

 

likewise , barry and cleanlines !

 

nice to see people's silver boards here , thanks ! 

 

  I've been contemplating silver powder in my fin panels .  I liked the look of the bronze powder I used in the past ....

 

  barry and cleanlines and others ,

 

I know the original poster doesn't want to spray ,

 

  but

 

  WHAT are your thoughts on spraying the blank , and does it / would it give a more 'silvery ' effect having a , say, plain white base coat under the silver ?

 

 .... compared to spraying the glass [cloth] , or the lam coat , or the filler or gloss coats ?

 

Also ,

 

  silver TINT and / or pigment ....

 

  combined with a silver spray underneath , or else just silver pigment , by itself ...

 

.....which of those setups would give the most 'shiny' , even  results ? Have you had good success with those ?

 

  I too have thought about having both gold and also silver boards , over the years [ I seem to recall one of M.R.'s twinnys, " back in the day " ??  ]

 

 I certainly have  sprayed fibreglass cloth in a fin panel  [adding small amounts of glitter to it , also .]

 

  Here is just a small, "leftover resin" colour experiment from before christmas . Green , silver , gold , and blue glitter was used [ it's really cheap to buy , available in small containers , at the local newsagent , here ] .....

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  cheers !

 

  ben