Surfboard Yellowing

[hit_the_lip]

I have a fish that I bought from a local shaper a few years back. I've noticed it's beginning to lose it's bright white color it had when I bought it, and it's starting to yellow a bit. I clean it, and put it in a board bag after every use. I've inspected the glassing, there doesn't appear to be any cracks in the glass, so I don't think it's taking on water. Is there anything I can do to stop the yellowing? The board is 2-3 years old, so I'm assuming it's probably normal. I usually don't keep boards this long, I go through boards quickly, so I'm not really used to the discoloration.

Let me clarify, it's not extremely yellow. Its just a very very light shade, most people probably wouldn't even notice it, but the board is no longer bright white.

[tony g]

Hello hit_the_lip
Some boards have the foam painted white to keep them looking bright. I have also heard some resins have some UV protection. You would have to check with the different glass shops though. With that said some boards do yellow with time, and some boards much faster than others. I wouldn't worry about it to much, just hit the lip harder on your next few waves!

[dtc]

Yeah, the blanks yellow over time, I guess from the UV. Wax can protect a little bit, you might have a foot pad or something. Actually, I was talking to a shaper a while ago who told me he encourages people to get their boards sprayed so they can't see the blank yellowing - he says his boards are designed to last 10 years so he doesn't want people thinking they look bad or old after a few years.

As far as I am aware it's purely cosmetic and doesn't weaken the board at all.

Because its the blank yellowing, under the glass, there isn't much you can do about it.

[IB_Surfer]

All boards yellow, but mostly from continuous sun exposure, especially if you surf a lot.

However, about 5 years ago my shaper told me a problem he had with a batch of epoxy resin. It's supposed to come with a whitener mixed in, if not it turns yellow. He had complain to his distributor when a couple of his boards started turning yellow in the shop before being sold. So, might be a bad batch of epoxy resin at the shapers. The only thing you can do is either put colored wax like I did on mine, just to make it look nicer, or pay to have it sanded and painted, about $90