Surfing Waves

Hi
I bought an old 9'3 performance longboard as a fixer upper. It was only £110 & had a few dings and dents which I fixed with durarez. It is PU with gloss polyester resin. The resin looks quite brittle and looks like it will damage easily.

I want to make it more durable so I can use it on days when there is risk of damage to my Fluid Juice 9'6 single fin. I want to give it a new coat of polyester resin. I plan on giving it a light sand with 600 wet and dry paper then applying the resin with a brush. It is very light so the extra weight of the new coat should not be a problem.

Has anyone else re coated a board? How did it turn out? Do you have any tips?

SingleFinSoul wrote:Hi
I bought an old 9'3 performance longboard as a fixer upper. It was only £110 & had a few dings and dents which I fixed with durarez. It is PU with gloss polyester resin. The resin looks quite brittle and looks like it will damage easily.

I want to make it more durable so I can use it on days when there is risk of damage to my Fluid Juice 9'6 single fin. I want to give it a new coat of polyester resin. I plan on giving it a light sand with 600 wet and dry paper then applying the resin with a brush. It is very light so the extra weight of the new coat should not be a problem.

Has anyone else re coated a board? How did it turn out? Do you have any tips?

I have done that, You probably want to scuff it up a bit more than 600 paper, you want the new resin to hold to the tiny grooves of 220 paper, but don't over sand through to the glass fibers!

I don't know if you can make it stronger by doing that. The resin underneath will remain brittle but perhaps if you sand it down to the glass it might make it a little stronger by removing some of the brittle resin. Just painting resin over it will increase the weight which is generally not desirable , unless the board is really floaty anyway.

oldmansurfer wrote:I don't know if you can make it stronger by doing that. The resin underneath will remain brittle but perhaps if you sand it down to the glass it might make it a little stronger by removing some of the brittle resin. Just painting resin over it will increase the weight which is generally not desirable , unless the board is really floaty anyway.

I have done something similar, and I totally agree with what oldmansurfer said. My already heavy beater log got so much heavier while not necessarily gaining too much strength. You may need to sand down almost to the weave to see any benefit. And still your board can be heavier in the end.

oldmansurfer wrote:I don't know if you can make it stronger by doing that. The resin underneath will remain brittle but perhaps if you sand it down to the glass it might make it a little stronger by removing some of the brittle resin. Just painting resin over it will increase the weight which is generally not desirable , unless the board is really floaty anyway.

I agree with you, once the original glass and resin are set and weakened over time by the elements and stress, a new coat of resin on top does not restore the original strength, but it can improve the appearance, and might keep some water from seeping in. Old fine cracks will come right back. But if you really love that board, why not.