Questions regarding restoring 2010 Naish Nalu 9'0

[mosheva]

Hi,  I just got an old 2010 Naish Nalu 9'0 for around $250, in working condition it sure have many dings and fin box that got repaired by our local DING KING shop (in Israel).

I just surf it last Saturday and it was awesome! longboard style amazing board for knee high and glassy conditions (since I'm too fat for surfing it on higher and choppy conditions - only 26" wide...) 

I thought about doing a DIY restoration project since it is not my main board...   I would like to restore the colors, to stiff the rails, install a new EVA deck pad, install a new handle and get rid of the old one. 

1. paint job - how to address it? just start sand the old color and repaint? (I do not wish to keep tribel on the deck and all of the Naish logos are gone... so I would like to paint it all white or two colors 1 for the bottom and white on the deck) 

2. stiff the rails - I thought about stiffing the rails with carbon sheets is it possible to apply carbon over fiberglass?, any tips on how to address it? 

3. EVA deck, the old deck is barely there it got just a bit left.. I thought to sand it out and I would like to order something cheap from eBay, any recommendation? 

4. New handle, I would like to go with the BluePlanet SUP Grip handle - any tips on how to install it? how do I remove the old one? just router it out and install a new foam? and fiberglass it? 

my level of 'handy man' skills are average I know how to fix regular dings and thinks that I would be able to execute such a DIY project with the help of you guys   any tips and tricks are welcome    

Thanks,
Moshe

[Bean]

Hey Moshe, for background I have a couple questions that might help.

What's the current weight of the board?  What's going on that makes you want to stiffen the rails?  Is the handle leaking?

[mosheva]

Hi,

I don't know the current weight... I will check it ASAP and post here...

As of a bad experience with 2014 Naish Hokua GT 9'10 that got many dings on each time I went surfing, I wish to stiff the rails for extra protection...

what should be the weight?

[Bean]

I would expect about 22lbs or so.  The reason I asked is, if it is considerably more, your first step would be to dry the board out.  And, if you need to replace the handle, that's the perfect location from which to dry the board out.

As far as rail protection goes, a CF overlay will just add weight and may not be any more durable than the existing rail.  I would recommend applying RailsaverPro after the restoration (paint) is complete.

I would only replace the handle if absolutely necessary, the original Naish handles are pretty decent unless they are leaking (they were among the first ledge style handles).  If you really do need to replace it, the Blue Planet handle is pretty nice.

You have a lot of work to do in just removing the pad and prepping for paint.  I use a (Bosch) Multi-Tool with flat scraper to get the pad off.  Then sand, 220 to 400 grit.  Because your board is narrow you can use 24" wide HydroTurf, length-wise.

As far as paint goes, since you are doing the whole board I would suggest bringing it to an auto body shop.  You really want a durable paint job. They will be painting over the original factory single stage urethane paint.  Let them guide you on the prep work.  And make sure they know where you are laying down the pad (paint gets heavy). 

If you do decide to go the rattle-can route, Rustoleum Universal works pretty well, specifically Canary Yellow, is a good match up for the old Naish yellow.  It's all about preparation, sand the whole board down to 400, primer, spot putty, sand, (paint, wet sand, paint, wet sand,) polish, traction pad and Railsaver.

[mosheva]

Thanks for your comment.

As for the grip, the old one is barely there it scraped off and left only thin layer which I think that I can sand out...

as for the handle it is not necessary but the current one are from the first version Nasih made the regular ones, not the famous "Ledge" handle... the reason which I consider to change it is that I hold the SUP in between waves from the handle and with the old one it is very hard to keep the SUP close... so I thought about replace it 'on the way...'

as for the paint job, I do not wish to add more weight just because of a new paint job, I would like to get rid of the old paint by sanding the first color coat and then apply the new color - spray can - I would use the 'Molotov' spray which is a professional spray paint then add a few coats of mat finish clear coat.

I would like to know more about the putty, is it epoxy with q-cell? primer?, are you suggesting not to stiff the rails with carbon or fiberglass?

Thanks,
Moshe

[Bean]

Hey Moshe, yes I would stay away from rebuilding the rails unless absolutely necessary.  Your board is barely 120L, so beefing up the rails would add a pretty high percentage of additional weight. 

As far as the putty goes, I've had good success using automotive type spot putty on surface imperfections.  But, be careful, spot putty is generally polyester based and will dissolve EPS foam if it comes in contact with the foam before it dries.  Of course if you are using it as intended, after the primer coat, this is not an issue.

I'm looking forward to seeing your finished project.  When your board was first produced, a 9' 120L SUP was considered a very challenging board, meant only for smaller statured riders.  But today, that same spec is totally usable for a reasonably skilled rider in the 180-210 lb range.  It's a board that was ahead of its time IMHO.

[wrybread]

Sweet board. I had an old 10.6 Nalu that I absolutely loved, until it broke. Like yours it was narrower than the later Nalus at 28". But compared to yours that's a wide tank!

I like it so much better than the later Nalu 10.6's.

[mosheva]

Hi,

I just saw it in our classified page for ridiculous price and just had to have it, it still very hard board to control since it is only 26" and I'm a big dude.. weights around 200 lb on 6'0" (95kg, 1.85M)

As I sad this one will be for the glossy rare days or when the wave is knee height or less...

I had the worst experience with Naish boards and hope that this board will change it a bit...

I will skip the rail stiff project as you guys suggested... but I still want to take care of all the color chips on the rails, how should I address it? epoxy with q-cell and just spread it on the rails?

I saw this video, , look @ 1:39 where he puts the sanding coat... should I do only this step in order to fill the paint chips?

[Bean]

That video would be good to follow if you had structural damage on the rails.  But, since you are just repairing paint chips and surface dings, a filler (or spot potty) would be a better choice (just keep it away from any bare EPS foam). 

What I do for surface damage is first make sure there is no loose paint, then lightly sand the rails to knock down of any high spots followed by primer.  (With a primer coat it's much easier to see the damage).  Then fill the chips with spot putty using a flexible plastic spreader or squeegee, sand and prime again. 

Remember repairing the surface of a painted board is closer to automotive style body work than traditional surfboard repair.  Ideally, you want to use a filler that is designed to flex with the paint.

[mosheva]

Hi, so I have started the first stage, removing the old deck pad... Man this is hard! I have tried heat gun , scraping and nothing seems to move the old pad.. It's feels like the deck was installed with the fiberglass layer... So as last resort I decided to sand out the old pad... I'm using electronic sander with 80 grid sand paper but after almost 2 hours of sanding I have mange to sand out 1/4 of the deck... I will get a 40 grid or less sand paper hoping it will be quicker...

I went to a local shaper in my area to learn a bit and he told me that the paint job they make on SUPs are automotive style and it will be impossible to get that finish at home without the proper paint and tools... He also told me how to fill the paint chips, he told me to use car-kit filler, same as the automotive industry are using, than sand it with soft sand paper...

He also told me that I can take the SUP to an automotive paint shop to repaint the board but it will be $$$$$.

As for now I think that I will finish the removal of the deck pad, fill the paint chips using the car-kit, fix the dings and go surfing

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

[mosheva]

Hello, so I mange to remove the deck pad by sanding it off.



I start with the handle replacement, I cut out the old handle and placed a brick of foam instead of the handle while planing to router out the new handle shape in the new brick of foam once it cure.

After placing the brick I sand it off to level it with the deck and I found that the foam was eaten by the epoxy resin I have probably used to much resin which probably heat up and cause the foam to melt... The main problem is that the original foam around the handle hole was also eaten up also to the bottom...
 
I don't know what should I do next...
Try to fit a new foam brick?
Cut out a bit more?

Pictures:
1. The hole after removing the handle
2. The brick which I placed
3. Sanding the brick to level up with the deck and finding the disaster
4. Removing the foam brick that I have placed finding the the original sup foam has been eaten up

Any help and suggestions would be appreciated !

Thanks!

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

[Bean]

You are better off using glue (Gorilla Glue) to add the foam block.  Resin will work too, but make sure you are using epoxy resin, (as I'm sure you know, polyester resin will eat the EPS foam).

Since your meltdown only appears on the one side it is likely due to a loose fit.  To get a tighter fit, cut the block out first then use it to trace the new hole.  If you use Gorilla Glue, keep in mind it will expand a little.

Robert (Blue Planet) has a great video on the installation of his handle at his website.

[Weasels wake]

Here's a good source for some technical info on your project.
http://www.boardlady.com/

[PonoBill]

If you intend to put the handle in the same spot, use a denser foam. It won't add any appreciable weight and it will both hold the handle better and route cleaner. Use gorilla glue to install the block. Epoxy just isn't worth the hassle for this. Gorilla glue is just as strong, foams to fill any imperfections, and isn't exothermic to any significant degree.

[eastbound]

to clean the last bits of deckpad/adhesive use Goo Gone