I just cut in half and threw out an old beater board I made about 10 years ago. The board was majorly yellowed from old age, however the foam in the saw cut was pure white within 1/32" of the fiberglass. Also, the lams had white backgrounds and the white logos still looked pure white through the old fiberglass. This gave me an idea: I am thinking about painting (on the foam) my next board white before glassing to eliminate the yellowing effect. Has anyone here done this already with good long term anti-yellowing results? I don’t want to waste my time if it won’t work. But my boards last over 5 years and it would be great to keep them white if they aren’t dinged or damaged.
Aaron I allways paint my blaks white before I glass them, Make sure when you sand the laps you don’t touch the foam with the sander as you will see a mark when you glass the deck
Some paints will go yellow over time too - and when they do, it’s a little late to do anything about it. It’s the effect of sunlight and UV on the foam or the vehicle part of the paint. Opaque white in the lamination will take care of it, but the best way is to keep your board in a bag when it’s not actually in the water. That also takes care of 90% of the dings and random damage a board picks up during its life. I figure it this way - if dropping a hundred bucks or less will double or triple the life of my ( more than $100 ) board, it’s a good move, ya know? Hope that’s of use doc…
Ive sometimes sprayed (w/auto detail gun) several very light coats of white acrylic over finished blanks... either high grade gesso or titanium white artists color, diluted with water, a bit of MEK and/or isopropyl alcohol. Always worked well for me.
I realize I may sound like the devil’s advocate by saying this but any finish looses it’s brilliance and perfect color over time in the elements. If you have to have white and want to show the foam and still don’t want a board to get a weathered look over time you’re kidding yourself. Things get old and for some a little weathering is ok. One simple approach is a yellow resin tint. Then you start with something that masks the yellowing process completely. Some of the sharpest boards I’ve ever seen were yellow. I’ve even seen some tan tints of late. It’s really all a matter of taste. If you must have white you can’t show the foam. Dale’s suggestion is a grand one. A high grade of acrylic is the key. I’m not sure how much adhesion you loose when you spray a board before you glass it but it’s certainly a viable solution. Another one is to mix as much white as suits your fancy into you glassing process. If you use white in you lamination and hot coat on top of painted board it seems to me that you’ll have something that will stand up pretty well. No matter what finish you choose only expose it to the sun when your surfing because ultraviolet rays deteriorates any plastic. Mahalo, Rich
Howzit Dale, I learned a trick from 1 of my nephews to keep white from going yellow. For years house painters had a problem with kitchen and bathroom cabinets that were painted white turning yellow. Just add a couple of drops of black, blue or red paint to your white. Since white has no color this adds some which will keep the paint from yellowing. I’v done cool white(add blue), warm white(add red)and just white white( add black), it only takes a few drops and you really can’t tell the difference. Aloha, Kokua
Aaron, I haven’t tried it but it has been recommended to me, use a white tint. It should help with the yellowing and it might add a bit of strength to the glass to also.
There’s a relatively new UV additive that you can add to your resin that adds increased brilliance to the resin. Makes the boards look extremely bright, almost phospherescence. Also prevents the resin and foam from turning yellow over time.
Kokua, Youre absolutely right... many consumers dont realize just how many colors of “white” there are! Ha ha! I was a sign painter for many years and it was a frequent practice to subtly tint lighter lettering paint with a color derived from a darker background pigmentation to improve opacity. “White” was made to appear “whiter” with a small amount of process blue… “white” could be made “softer”, “more complex” and “warmer”, by adding yellow, red, brown and black, etc. I grew to almost dread certain customers, proud perfectionists, who were just savy enough about the tinting process to get themselves lost in the infinite combinations, making them virtually impossible for anyone to satisfy. Regardless of blank color, one of the classic effects from a beautifully finished glass job is its illusion of depth. Can`t get that from an opaque pop-out.
Christian!..What is it? What’s it called? Where do you get it??? Teaser! MLC
True Dale, but with the opacity comes new vision of the surface. I like both looks for completely different reasons. You know the perfect curves that you somehow got into that matt you made me, well I could see them only better because the material you use is opaque just as a matter of practicality. When the little Thai craftsman builds up and cuts back the surface of his Surftech ‘popout’, he is helping to actually improve on, the smoothness of curve that PU, our shaping machines and hand tools are struggling to get. I rode a 68 Minami surtech in some big waves and it went very well. When I first looked at the bottom of it I saw the smoothest bulge free curve I have ever seen. Then I saw the same on a Rusty French too. They float differently and flex differently, but are far closer to a standard shortboard than your matts or a 10 foot mal, yet both of those two forms can be made in very different ways and materials without too much complaint. ps How on earth did you get the curve into the bottom of the thing???GW
Hi Greg, Those curves are the result of welding lower denier internal structures and bottom surface to a differently oriented, higher denier top material. The bottom and internal structure also have a subtle lengthwise elasticity, while the deck material does not. Operated at low air pressures, your mat also has the ability to instantly react and adapt to a waves curves and textures. Seeking the paths of least resistance. Its template, rail contours, thickness taper, rocker, buoyancy distribution are never the same on any two waves. In addition, while surfing, the deck and running surface are tensioned differently, independently responding to both rider and wave. That`s your surf mat in the four spec photos… 18 ounces of wickedly fast fun. 
Hi Dale, well thanks for the explanation, I think I know what you mean, and it’s so nice not to know deeply how or why something works, but just to ride it! Ahhhh, what a breath of newness that mat is for me… So you kind of avoided the popout issue, do you prefer to leave it as said? Greg W
Greg Webber- why should anyone call this “surfboard shaping”? Hasn`t the traditional definition of “professional shaper” changed forever? lost uses kkl and foamworks. Holy sheeps bitch- computers directing machines! Greg, do you ever take the time to shape a blank entirely by hand anymore? Now why are you riding air matts? Seems you have finally “lost” your mind. Answers are in order. 
Hi Greg, I design and build my surf mats with top, bottom and internal materials to respond to internal/external pressures differently from each other, yet work together in a balanced manner. And I agree with you about opaque finishes being better to “read” contours than deep transparent or multi-colored. As for mass-produced surfcraft, theyll either continue to fill a need, or disappear. Its interesting to note that molded/mass-production surfboard companies have a history of failure… aside from the great success of the bodyboard, its target demographic and profit margin being two of the main reasons. If todays molded surfboards continue to be popular, I expect them to become even more competitive with conventional surfboards. I also agree that choice is a good thing… its obvious consumers want custom, off-the-rack and mass-produced/molded surfcraft. Manufacturers working for surfings best interests should have nothing to fear from educated consumers. The more knowledge, the better. And its only logical that the time will come when CAD will be sophisticated enough to quickly shape/duplicate cores from start to finish. No skilled human hands will be needed. Information will be available with every conceivable variation of design and material criteria, their interpretation and proven application. Databases and technicians will eventually replace most shapers, just as new technologies will eventually replace CAD. In the future, I hope there will still be a need for traditional shapers and custom work, although I know there wont be many. Im also not sure where theyre going to come from. The simplicity of experienced, hands-on creativity and invention will likely represent a very small portion of the total market. My highest hopes weigh on the side of innovative non-professional designers and builders.