My filthy board...

[BaNZ]

The first 2 is before I spent an hour scrubbing my board with soap and sponge. As you can see my Torq board has got a matt surface and it is filthy!

Previously I used paint remover and it was brilliant but I remember someone telling me it is not such a great idea..... since it can dissolve the board if it gets in.

Any better solutions? It just looks so dirty....

[oldmansurfer]

Is that wax? Maybe that is where the paint remover you used the last time removed some of the resin? If it is wax then I have used a plastic scrubbing pad (meant for dishwashing) to remove the leftover little bits. If it isn't wax then maybe lightly sanding with really fine (600 or more) wet sandpaper or try car polish (that contains a buffing compound) and an electric buffer....oh wait I am not sure what that would do to the board but it should work. If I were doing it I would test it on an junk board first. (edited to add) I just looked and they have polishing compound made for surfboards that should be safe.

[BaNZ]

It's not wax. A year ago I used paint remover to clean the board up. It was good but hard to get it perfectly clean. What happened if I recall correctly is that the paint remover removed the dirt but acted as a coat to the board. I had difficulty trying to rinse the paint remover off with water. So when the paint remover dried, I think it got stuck to the board with the layer of dirt.

When I first got the board, it is just matt finish. Felt very rough and doesn't feel like it had a layer of resin on it. But honestly, I don't know what I'm talking about.

I thought about using plastic scrubbing pad but I didn't want to damage or scratch the board.

Every time when I get to the beach, I look like I have the dirtiest board. Cos it is matt surface so once the dirt gets stuck on it. It isn't easy to get it off. I wish my board is like the left one where it seems to be coated and glossy.

[oldmansurfer]

The plastic scouring pad looked like this http://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Brite-Multi-Purpose-Plastic-Scrubbing-Pad/dp/B0076RQNDI
but I just read what you wrote and it sounds like polishing the board is the way to go. There are many varieties if you do an online search for surfboard polishing compound.

[BaNZ]

Ah I see, I think I also either need a stronger detergent, or maybe bleach. It's just I drive long distance without a board cover and I roof mount my board. So all the air pollution gets stuck on it.

[oldmansurfer]

If you have a drill you can get a buffing wheel that fits on it. Use the 600 or finer grade sandpaper to wet sand it smooth then polish it with the compound. I suppose it might work by hand but more difficult to do. Things that might bleach it are chlorox ( laundry bleach) or hydrogen peroxide or you might try wax remover that you can usually buy at surf shops. If the bleach works then maybe you won't need to sand it but if it is rough then smoothing it out will keep it from accumulating stuff. If it goes deep enough (exposing fiberglass) then maybe you need a fresh coat or resin to reseal it.

[waikikikichan]

1) I do not think that board is PU/PE. Should be a molded epoxy board with a top sheet. You can't really polish it. If it gets dirty, just use green pad.

2) That SATIN finish is faster than a smooth gloss finish. Don't take it off.

[jaffa1949]

BaNZ mate get over it , dirty boards are OK , you are not ready to be released with power tools in proximity to any surfboard.
There are commercial wax degreasers, do not attempt to change the surface texture of your boards and power tools will give you sand throughs that you won't see and leakage problems.

Dirty looks is the lesser of any problems that may ensue!

[oldmansurfer]

I buy boards with a shiny finish but sand them with 600 grade wet sandpaper to make a less glossy finish. However my boards aren't pitted and don't stain. They have a smooth finish even though there are scratches all over the surface they are tiny little scratches and they don't accumulate crap. What they do is to hold a layer of water over the board but that is it. They don't hold a layer of grime. You obviously have more problems than a rough finish.

[dtc]

I'm with Jaffa. If someone lines up with a sparkling shiny funboard next to me, my first thought will be 'mmm, newbie, might give them a bit of a wide berth' (until I can see what they do).

Wear the dirt with pride! Sign of a well used board. Anyway, its on the bottom so you wont notice once you are in the water.

Although - buy a board bag! Even a cheap one offers some protection. This probably sounds harsh, but why worry about making your board all clean if you don't protect it properly in the first place - even from rocks or bugs or whatever thrown up during the drive. Let alone it sitting in the sun for hours on end. Even a board sock will be useful; and it prevents the wax from getting all over the car / being rubbed off as well.

As an aside, what size are the fins on the Torq?

[Jester]

Spent an entire evening once looking up laminar flow..turns out rough bits on a surface = much better for reducing drag. Mad interesting stuff if you ever feel like researching something. Gave me a few ideas of designs for bottom of a board not that I'm ever gonna create it though..not gonna post em in case Roy is reading and makes another million with my idea!!

[jaffa1949]

Experiments have been tried on putting micro versions of whale belly striations to facilitate laminar flow.
Results were promising. As were copies of golf ball dimples, both were shaper and glasses nightmares.

Speaking of Roy, his BLEF fins. Based on the tubercles on threading edge of humpback pectoral fins.
They are also specifically rough from their 3D printing and the flow seems enhanced

I like the way they work for me!

Out there ideas for surfboards evolves surfing, without them the world would only be 10ft logs carved from redwood.

[BaNZ]

Wear the dirt with pride! Sign of a well used board. Anyway, its on the bottom so you wont notice once you are in the water.

Although - buy a board bag! Even a cheap one offers some protection. This probably sounds harsh, but why worry about making your board all clean if you don't protect it properly in the first place - even from rocks or bugs or whatever thrown up during the drive. Let alone it sitting in the sun for hours on end. Even a board sock will be useful; and it prevents the wax from getting all over the car / being rubbed off as well.

As an aside, what size are the fins on the Torq?

Wait till you see the top! My excuse is that the beach I surf at is black sand. Plus during the summer air temp is 30+ so the wax melts and the sand gets stuck to it.

I do have a board bag and a soft cover. But when I surf every day, it is too much hassle taking it on and off.

No idea what the fins are nor do I even how to measure it. But it is standard 9" Torq and the fins came with it.

[BaNZ]

BaNZ mate get over it , dirty boards are OK , you are not ready to be released with power tools in proximity to any surfboard.
There are commercial wax degreasers, do not attempt to change the surface texture of your boards and power tools will give you sand throughs that you won't see and leakage problems.

Dirty looks is the lesser of any problems that may ensue!

Oh I'm not even thinking about using any power tools. I got injured as a kid trying to sand things down. I sanded a few mm off my fingerprints.

It's just that people ask why is my board so dirty and I don't look after it. But every session I rinse it off with fresh water.

1) I do not think that board is PU/PE. Should be a molded epoxy board with a top sheet. You can't really polish it. If it gets dirty, just use green pad.

2) That SATIN finish is faster than a smooth gloss finish. Don't take it off.

From what the shop said, it is two later epoxy and the sturdiest board they have ever seen.

Was expecting smooth gloss finish to be faster.... since it feels like less water friction. But anyway, I won't change anything. I just want to get the board cleaned. Next time when I'm there again, I'm going to ask if they have board cleaning services... and also redo the wax.

[oldmansurfer]

From what the shop said, it is two later epoxy and the sturdiest board they have ever seen.

Was expecting smooth gloss finish to be faster.... since it feels like less water friction. But anyway, I won't change anything. I just want to get the board cleaned. Next time when I'm there again, I'm going to ask if they have board cleaning services... and also redo the wax.

There is a great idea.... let them make it look pretty. Long ago there was a spray called "dolphin skin" that was sold for a while because they found that the rough texture of dolphins skin allowed them to swim faster. What it is that on a polished board the friction is the board against the water but with a rough surface it holds a layer of water over the surface so the friction is water against water which makes it less so the board goes faster. When I was into paipo boarding I experimented with this and found that there was a marked difference between the two surfaces. Two similar paipo boards pushed in flat water and the sanded surface went further.

[Jester]

OK here goes, Roy if you're reading this and it works you owe me half a million for your next board!

The turbulence creates areas of low pressure to move an object into creating less drag. I'm proposing placing I strip of small protruding tubercules/slightly flexible baby fins forward of the fins, just like you see in front of the tail fin on a blue fin tuna, basically biomimetics here. They would initially be only a few mm high possibly leading to a centimetre just before the fins. They shouldn't in my mind give it too much lateral drag when powering a turn but it would be fun to experiment.

The idea is to reduce drag from the fins in forward motion and speed up the ride. By keeping them small it shouldn't increase but rather reduce drag. They could even come in different configurations forward of the fins in their own extra long fin box for easy replacement. 3D printed, flexible or stiff variants could be swapped out for easy testing.

You're all my witnesses, this is my idea! Roy if you wanna talk send me a PM

[Jester]

Also thinking of the underside..making a 3D printed 'sharkskin' would be amazing, layed on as a final layer. But as a temporary solution I'm thinking of either sanding to create striations using a continuous belt sander so the micro grooves go all one way (not an orbital sander ) or spraying the underside of my board with a hydrophobic barrier like windowlene to dissipate the pesky layer of sticky water that actually causes drag.

Orrr just let it get all waxy and dirty like Banz has..should do the same trick

Let's face it I ain't gonna know the difference at my level

[oldmansurfer]

If you want to try it 600 grit wet sand paper and use water and just lightly sand the bottom. You will notice that before the water beads up and after it spreads out and coats the board. Don't sand too much or you will expose the fiberglass. I wouldn't advise a belt sander but maybe an orbital might be ok. Belt sanders probably don't do wet sanding very well and that is what you need and you only need to make tiny little scratches and not sand down the resin.

[BaNZ]

Or I just coat my board with dolphin skin.....

Now that I think about it, you guys are right about the satin / gloss surface. I have 2 x 9" Torq boards. 1 in Taiwan and 1 in UK. The UK one isn't glossy but it has a much smoother surface. Feels a bit plastic. I feel the one in UK is slower. But that is probably because I'm wearing 4/3 wetsuit here and I barely do any exercise so I struggle to perform well.

[Jester]

Struggling to perform again eh Banz? They've got pills for that now!!