Surfboard Decal

Hi all

Looking for some advice on putting a photo on my surfboard, I have done some research and found that printing on rice paper and then putting resin over is the way to go. However to order a custom photo on a large size is expensive. I was wondering if I could substitute parchment paper for the rice paper.

Contact Boardlams , they can print your photo on to 2oz cloth and you can glass it on

Yes and not that exspensive either.  Caligraphy paper can be bought online, Amazon etc,.  You can use a home printer.   Use a “glue stick to paste caligraphy paper to a sheet of Photo Copy paper.  Put your pic in the copier, press the button and hand feed your caligraphy/photo paper into the copy machine.  That will give you a normal 8 1/2” x 11" copy.  I forget which copier guys here on Sways favor.  Ink Jet or Laser.  One is favored  over the other because of the type of ink, printing process etc.  I’ve got a couple of Cannons that I have done this on before.  Mostly Black ink though.

PS.  It’s a “lam” not a decal.  A lam of a logo, design, pic etc.  it’s a “lam” because it is laminated onto or under fiberglass cloth and resin during and as part of the lamination process.  Not a decal, sticker or even a logo.  It’s time folks started getting their terminology right.

I don’t think baker’s parchment is going to be ‘clear’ enough after laminating to look nice, too thick…

15 grams per square meter ‘rice’ (mulberry) paper, stuck to a backer sheet, fed through a laser copier/printer.

Can be bought from stores that sell ‘fancy’ paper for calligraphy, art, etc.

Or if you are lucky one of the uncles from Hawai’i sends you a few pieces…

Some of the surfboard supply places sell it too:

https://www.foamez.com/product/logo-paper-3-pack/

https://shapersupply.com/products/rice-paper

https://greenlightsurfsupply.com/products/surfboard-custom-logo-rice-paper

The statute of limitations has passed on this one but I’ve run logos on both color and B&W laser jets on regular copy paper and have laminated over those without any problems.  

Now I either do no logo at all or in tint/opaque resin.    I still have some rice paper tucked away, though.  

I have glassed a couple of full “Boardlams” printed on 2oz cloth.  Was pretty easy to do.  Just get it good and Saturated. Pull off all the excess and make sure there are no dry spots or bubble. I did the first one under 4oz.  Be vey careful sanding the hotcoat.  Did the second one under 6oz.  Luckily I did t damage anything when I sanded the hotcoat on the 4oz.  So with a few precautionary measures, the stuff turned out great.  Lowel

I think I have told the story before of the Hobie balsa with the stamped Hobie lam that even fooled Renny.