Whats the best way to make a board look like its wood?

[surf patrol]

Hi, ive been looking with much interest at wooden surfboards and while i still cant afford one i would like to give my first board a wood finish.

Ive seen so far two ways to make a non wooden board look like its made of wood. I found there is the aplication of a thin wood laminate before glassing and also by creating effects with different paints like in the video below

I havent seen any of those on person so i dont know how effective they are, so i would like to know if you seen any boards that were succesfully painted with a wood effect and what do you think is the best method for doing so.


Thanks.

[jaffa1949]

I think that the paint on wood finish would be the way to go for a newbie. The are difficulties with laminating and unless you have the proper facilities and skill there is great risk of material failure.
With the painting and staining method you can always wipe away mistakes ( which only be cosmetic anyway). Have fun and a unique board

[GazinOz]

[YouTube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKJhB3l-mhk[/YouTube]
This technique comes out pretty realistic.

[IB_Surfer]

Most shapers can make a wood looking board, you just pay for their time painting it. My shaper is good with color but actually has a painter that specialized in custom designs, who he pays to come in for special projects. I've seen him do skulls, foam, sunets and yes, wood look with wood grain that you could not tell was not real wood.

However, much easier, my shaper made me a white board and painted brown stripes on the tip and nose, way cheaper and it looks like it has wood blocks in the end.

[dtc]

Depending on how 'woody' you want it, there are boards with bamboo veneers under the fibreglass (some of the firewires, for example, and I've seen some bamboo decked cheaper boards on the net). But they dont look the ones in those videos.