DIY for Dumbasses: Paint Your Board
DIY for Dumbasses: Paint Your Board
by Whitehouse
Your jibstick a soggy noodle from too much abuse in the park? Your seasoned all-mountain rig suffering from case of late '90s? We enlisted the help of the custom painting pros at TOWR13 Customs, painted a beat up deck, and put together a step-by-step guide to tell you how to do it yourself.
- Sandpaper (2 Sheets): Anything moderately coarse will suffice. I used 220-grit sandpaper.
- Blue painter's tape (1 Roll): Great for detailing and protecting—and it won't stick and peel when the job's done. You'll only need one small roll, unless you plan on getting nuts with the taping off and detailing.
- Razor blade (1 Blade): Your Mach 3 refills ain't gonna cut it.
- Spray paint/durable clearcoat (1 Can of paint per color): Most store-bought spray paint will get the job done, but the Pro Tips call out a better, more durable option—like from an automotive store. I was able to paint a couple boards with only one can of black paint and one of gold, and I didn't even put a dent in the can of clearcoat between both jobs.
- Yosemite Sam mustache: Optional, but highly recommended to give mustache rides to all your adoring fans after you finish painting.
Prepping: Consider this: your paint job; whether you're going for artistic, representational, or flat out cheesiness, will only be as good as the basecoat you put it on. What I'm saying is: take some time, sit down, have a beverage, put on some tunes, and spend some QT with the board that's treated you so well over the seasons.
- If you're worried about getting paint on your base, tape around your sidewalls and edges with blue painter's tape—it'll protect your base, and at the end of the job it will pull off without stripping off your paint. Also, fill your board's inserts with cotton swabs or Q-Tips before you paint, that way you won't run into problems when you want to put you bindings back on your board.
- Go to town on you board with some sandpaper—what you want to do is sand the topsheet down enough to the point that there are no longer any shiny spots. The topsheet needs to look dull—that means it's porous and ready to soak up some new paint. This will clear off years of grime and resort blood, creating a tacky, receptive base for your paint.
- Use a razor blade to cut down/shape any rough spots, gouges, pocks, dings, shunts, or any other shitty spot that won't hold paint well along your topsheet and sidewalls.
- Clean off your topsheet with a moist rag.
Pro Tip: Get out the razor blade for all those old stickers and burred spots on your topsheet. Paint will start peeling from any rough spot or inconsistency on your topsheet—once the paint starts peeling away it's all over. Make sure you start out pretty otherwise your snowboard will end up ugly.
Paint: Find yourself a nice well-lit, well-ventilated place. Also, make sure your deck is nice and comfortable in there—you don't want anything bad to happen while you're waiting for it to dry. Also, put down some newspaper before you paint—don't ruin your garage floor, or anything else nearby, for that matter.
- Figure out your plan of attack before you start painting. Have your design in mind, as well as how you're going to accomplish your design by method of taping, stenciling, or what have you.
- Spray! The secret to a good spray paint job is smooth, consistent strokes—otherwise you'll end up with thick spots that'll take forever to dry as well as an uneven-looking base coat.
- Throw down at least two decent coats of basecoat and make sure your basecoat is nice and dry to the touch before you get to the detailing.
- Give yourself plenty of time for drying. If you're working indoors at warm temps, you should only have to wait 30 minutes to two hours for a coat to dry, otherwise it could take anywhere from 3 hours to all night to dry out.
- Detail the shit out your deck. Stencils, tape, your tag, whatever.
Pro Tip: Go instead to an automotive paint store for the spray paint—most shops will mix an aerosol can of any color you like for about $20.You'll have a lot more color options and the paint just looks better. Plus, high-quality automotive paint will last a lot longer than standard, store-bought brands.
Clearcoat: This is probably the easiest, shortest step, but it's one of the most important. So don't slack off. Again—smooth, consistent strokes, don't goop up your work of art. The clearcoat will protect your paint job—make sure you lay it on proper. I decided to go with two layers. More protection = more better, right?
Pro Tip: Keep that newly-painted board away from dust or any other particulates that might wreak havoc when caught between layers of paint. Your board will look sweet right after you paint it, but if you leave them out to dry where your powdered doughnut-eating roommate looms you're probably going to end up with a sweet, but not so rad-looking snowboard.
Maybe you're into the idea of a new paint job for your board, but you just don't have the creative bug, the space to do it in, the time, etc. Just give the gang over at TOWR13 Customs (the source for all my painting tips) a call and they'll be more than happy to help you out. Check out what they did to my buddy's Armada ARG's, just imagine what they could do for your board.
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