How to Paint a Surfboard

Let’s pimp your ride. Here you will find step-by-step instructions on how to paint your surfboard.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Undercoat 1 x 150ml can of acrylic auto spray-paint.
• Primary base color 3 x 150ml cans of acrylic auto spray-paint.
• Clear top coat 2 x 150ml cans.
• If you want to do funky designs you’ll need water-based paint pens.
• One roll low-tack masking tape.
• One sheet 600-grit sandpaper.
• A newspaper.

1. First you’ll need to decide whether you want to paint the whole board, or just do a groovy design. I’ll walk you through both processes.
2. Set yourself up in a well ventilated area, out of the wind.
   
   Pull the stomp pad off carefully (gently pry it with a scraper as you pull). Or you can leave it on and tape over it with newspaper later if you want to do a quick job and paint around it.
   
   Now clean that board. I mean really clean it. Scrape the wax off then scrub the board thoroughly to remove all traces of wax, salt and grime. Don’t use any harsh solvents or your board may melt into a bubbling mess. Repair dings.
3. Give it a light but thorough sand all over. Don’t be lazy when it comes to sanding.
   
   This is particularly important on high wearing areas like the nose, rails and tail.
4. Set the board up so you can hold the cans vertically when spraying. Use long, smooth horizontal strokes that overlap a little.
   
   It’s preferable to do a couple of nice even thin coats as the paint will drip and look crap if you spray it on too thick.
   
   If you're new to spray painting practice on newspaper first. Paint the less visible areas to begin with (like around your fins or on top of your deck where your wax goes).
   
   Read paint instructions for drying time.
   
   One layer of undercoat, then two coats of your primary color. Give a light sand between coats.
   
   If you want to have multiple colors tape off other areas with newspaper to protect them.
5. If you want to get creative use water-based paint marker pens to do designs. They allow a lot of color and detail.
   
   You can also tape off stencils any spray paint them.
   
   Sketch a draft first and remember to think big since small stuff wont show up.
   
   Don’t worry if you mess up. Just tape over the rest of the design, re-spray where you stuffed up, then start again.
6. Finish off with two or three layers of clear topcoat, wait for it to dry then go hit the waves.

Tips & Warnings

• Always spray in a well ventilated area and read instructions before using paints.