Custom Paint Your Old Snowboard!!! (for your Valentine perhaps)

My girlfriend really wanted me to teach her to snowboard this season, so I decided that if she wanted to try, she might as well have some good looking gear. Since a brand new board/boots/bindings would be a bit out of my league, I figured one of my old boards would fit her perfectly, and I could make it look new again...so this is how I did it. It's not perfect, but I must say I'm happy with how it turned out. Most importantly, my girlfriend LOVED it! She got it a bit early for Valentines day, but hey, ya gotta go when the snow falls.

I couldn't find any solid, picture-filled write-ups on the topic, so I figured I'd record my trials. I'm sure there's some experienced and opinionated painters out there. Hit up the comments. I'd love to here any pointers you may have learned along the way.

Step 1: Tools and Materials

I used cheap and readily available materials for this project. From what I heard, the harsh winter elements would be the eventual ruin of the even best paint and painting. If the materials I chose are used correctly, I'm sure they can work great....I think I came pretty close.

Wants and Needs:
Old Snowboard (or an ugly new one)
A Design Idea!
Time....enough for complete drying
Well Ventilated Area
Newspaper
Lots of Masking Tape
Goggles and Mask -if you're painting inside you should use a respirator. I should have had one for this project.
Epoxy
Scotchbrite Pad
Sand paper in various grits
Alcohol
Dupli-Color Prep Wipe
Dupli-Color Black Primer
Dupli-Color Black Paint
Contact Paper (If you're stenciling)
Compass and Compass Cutter
CD's - guide for cutting circles
Rustoleum Florescent Pink
Rustoleum Sugarplum
Razor Blades
Sharpies

Comments

[kairedfern]

When the board bends and flexes, does the paint crackle?

[jonnysoups]

Nope, haven't had a problem with that, though different paints might do different things.

[kairedfern]

You say for the edges of the board you used a cd- like you pressed the CD on the bent parts to be able to make the design? Cause the tips that curve are troubling me

[jonnysoups]

you got it. held it down and used it as a guide to cut

[kairedfern]

Whelp then I'm doing it.

I'm probably driving you insane with all these comments

[jonnysoups]

SO? how'd it go?

[kairedfern]

WELL!! I put the white contact paper on, then sprayed several layers of clear coat and white on that. Annoying, the paint did that crackly thing and I sanded it down. When it gets warm and non-windy again, I'm gonna do just one layer of white then start the circle layer

[jonnysoups]

haha Hope it went well!

[kairedfern]

So your compass worked when drawing circles for where to board bends upward?

[kairedfern]

Can we not sand?

[jonnysoups]

If you're painting contact paper, I wouldnt sand anything. Clean the surface of the board before putting the contact paper on first.

[kairedfern]

Thanks :) I've found a very rich blue and a purple, doing it on a white background to match my bindings.

[kairedfern]

What was the diameter of the circles you used?

[kairedfern]

I was just going to use Krylon spray paint, what did you use for a primer?

[kairedfern]

So would you recommend putting a line down the middle and the center of the board, then starting with a line of circles there; then from that line, branch out? Also, how hard did you press?

I should practice beforehand xD

[jonnysoups]

The line down the middle of the length of the board (hotdog) made it a lot easier to keep it even. I started the circles at the front of the board, so a full circle fit at the tip. I figured that would be part you'd see when you're riding.
how hard? Are you going to put the contact paper and then paint/draw on it or cut out a stencil like mine? just a warning, if you're cutting out parts, but not painting it, you will scratch the finish on the board a bit.
Good Luck!! Take some pictures make a followup instructable!

[kairedfern]

I'm planning on doing a layer of contact paper, spray paint on that, then doing your clear paper stencil cut out thing, then coloring like you and a clear coat.

[kairedfern]

So I want to paint mine, and I plan on cleaning it then just putting contact paper on then doing all the art on top of that. I don't wanna ruin my only board, cause I'm tight for money. After the art is done, should I do the spray-on clear coat or another layer of clear contact paper or both?

[jonnysoups]

I would say that if you are going to put the contact paper on it instead of painting it, you should leave out the clear coat. If for nothing else, so you can test if the contact paper will say on there through the snow and ice. I think if you spray over it, it will likely be really hard to get off.
I do really like the idea of covering it all with white contact paper and then going crazy with some colored sharpies. If it works well, you could have a "new" board each season!!

[neckfire]

I've actually done this before (not as fancy a paintjob of couse- I actually used brush on arcylics) But to get the nice shiney finish I actually used a varnish of some sort. I painted it on real thick and let it even it self out and dry. It never really chipped. Heald up almost as well as the original varnish. Only thing after a year of use it got a bunch of cracks in the varnish from the board flexing. Looked pretty cool honestly. Great tutorial! :)

[kairedfern]

Curious, what kind of varnish?

[Electroinnovation]

Well im done!! I have yet to ride it...but I put a really good layer of hot wax on the bottom and used about 2 cans of that clear enamel protectant spray. I hope it holds up becasue I think im in love with itt!! The first pic is the bottom and the second is the top.

[jonnysoups]

Looks great, man!!

[Electroinnovation]

Thanks! I just tried it out on the snow yesterday and it actually went really fast even though I painted the bottom! I guess the poly spray and hot wax helped it out a lot

[PyromaniacDaniel]

I am considering painting my board and have been researching the viability of doing so. I was wondering how well this held up for you?

[jonnysoups]

Surprisingly well. There are definitely dings and chips on the edges from the lift line, but the top surfaces all look great. Maybe making the outside edge all one color would make for easy touch-ups in the future.

[sistergldnhair]

this is realy cool i just got a snow board myself

[mcovey]

Thanks for the info I am planning on painting my board soon and after talking to my uncle who is an autobody man I have decided to go with a type of paint called POR-15 I have used it on cars before but hadnt though to use it for
this but the stuff is strong. you can hit it with a hammer and it wont chip or scratch both the clears and the colors they have. the paint is called POR-15

http://www.advanced-rust-protection.com/por-15-hardnose.htm


I was planning on using the hardnose color paint then vinyl stickers
for the design I want and then a clear coat of the POR15 over that.
I was only planning on the clear because I wanted to seal the vinyl in
real good.

I will hopefully be doing this soon on my board and can give you
updates to how well it works and some pics. as for on the slopes that
will be awhile for those results.

[nealwm]

I custom painted my partners skis that he purchased used (the bottoms were in good condition but the top sides had their share of scratches and dings...but no delamed rails!) and figured it out on the second attempt. After roughing up the surface to be painted with medium grit SP I put down 3 light coats of an automotive surface primer (grey) made specifically for fiberglass applications. After each coat was completely dry (!) went over with steel wool using a finer grit each coat. I was going to do a color coat but liked the grey mat look. I then threw paint of various colors onto the grey ala Jackson Pollock and when fully dry gave the whole ski top surface two coats of Spar Varnish. He has used them three times without any chipping or color loss. One important note: Tape off the metal edges on the ski/snowboard well as this needs to be free of anything specially wax and paints.

[Electroinnovation]

I started to spraypaint my old board and so far I'm almost done with one side. I just have a quick question, how many layers of the clear coat would you recommend?

[jonnysoups]

As many as you can to an extent. I think I did 3, but 5 light coats, that you let dry in between would have been better, if I had the time. Also, just to make sure, you said you're done painting one side, you know that you can't paint the bottom side, right. The wax needs to contact the snow. A couple people asked me that, so I just wanted to make sure. Good luck! Post pictures!

[Electroinnovation]

Okay thanks...but I did paint the bottom :P haha but I have some wax and ill definantly wax it when im done so it should hold up decently. Oh well i dont even care about the board anyway thats why I'm doing it. And thanks for the info I'll post pictures soon.

[jonnysoups]

Haha oops. No worries. Making mistakes is the fastest way to learn (typically for me, anyway)!

[Electroinnovation]

True haha. Well snowboarding season just ended for me where I live so I'll have to let you know how it works next year...if i remember...

[Tofu-Sama]

Two suggestions to improve fixing cracks. Automotive (bumper) epoxy is black, and much more flexible than regular epoxy, so it's generally a better choice for a board. Two, you can wrap anything that will touch the epoxy in wax paper, and the epoxy won't stick to it. I've used those two methods to create perfectly smooth repairs on my board's topsheet.

[kristylr]

if you roll out the contact paper on a flat surface and draw your design on it first, then apply to the board it will be easier than drawing the design on a curved surface. And if you sand off all the old paint job and get it down to just the board itself then you won't add any weight to the board with the new paint.

[jonnysoups]

Great idea! Especially with a repeating pattern. Though lining up a 5 foot long sheet of contact paper would make it interesting...
Also with regard to sanding, most boards are laminated with a top sheet of plastic on top, you probably just want to rough up the surface so it can hold the paint, and not take too much off.

[babyspider]

did any of you that tried this notice any significant amount of weight added with all the coats of paint and sealer ?
i have a board that could use a new look but is already heavy.
great tutorial.

[jonnysoups]

Even with a thick coat of paint, i would say that the added paint weight is negligible compared to the wood, metal, wax and everything else that goes into the board. Plus, once it's on the snow and sliding, you'll never notice the difference.

[longauth]

sometimes the solvent used to carry the paint will vary from brand to brand this can also cause the krinkle effect. I've had it happen to me many times especially during a multi-coat process.