Author Topic: How are factory boards painted?  (Read 18666 times)

rg15

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How are factory boards painted?
« on: March 28, 2017, 05:38:59 PM »
Researching before I start my first board and can't find the answer.. how are factory boards painted/is it possible to achieve that look on my own? Would like the look of a Fanatic/Naish (colored deck, glossy lettering on the sides etc) but can't tell if I need to just paint the blank or paint after glassing... or some other technique that I'm unaware of.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
2011 YOLO Board Coastal Cruiser 12'0 x 32"
2015 Fanatic Allwave 9'5" x 32.25"
2016 Fanatic Allwave 9'4" x 33"

jrandy

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Re: How are factory boards painted?
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2017, 08:20:53 PM »
Some of the boards are painted after glassing before clear coat and polish,
Some have graphics under the glassing.
Google 'SUP factory video' and YouTube will show it to you both ways.
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Bean

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Re: How are factory boards painted?
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2017, 08:23:10 PM »
Also, many factory board mfg. use closer to an automotive finishing process than traditional surfboard finishing.  Many still use 2 part urethane finishes, highly toxic. 

But a lot of custom SUPs are finished exactly like traditional surfboards.  Here is a link to the Greenlight Surf Supply help section which is a great start.

https://greenlightsurfsupply.com/pages/help-center-intro

supuk

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Re: How are factory boards painted?
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2017, 09:10:35 PM »
 That's easy to answer ......  POORLY!

don't get me started!

use what 99% of how boards are painted in these mass factories as a example of what NOT to do and not what to do.  ie do not use huge amounts of filler, do not use huge amounts of primer, do not spray in humid environments, do not ... the list goes on.

Most of the time paint is only there to cover up poor materials or workmanship. The art of mastering a perfect clear lam is way better than any pint job. If you must add colour do it in the form of pigmented resin that way it will not chip but for you first lam I would just go with clear as it keeps things simple and you can see and learn from your mistakes.

 should you decide to ignore all of this just take the board to a auto shop were they will use good quality paint in the correct environment and do a post cure on it that should give you the best chance of it not chipping..


I could go on for hours on this subjet but I will try and hold it back  :-\


Area 10

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Re: How are factory boards painted?
« Reply #4 on: March 28, 2017, 11:04:33 PM »
Yeah, after owning a couple of dozen factory-made boards by all of the main brands and a few smaller ones I now also now have one that was made by supuk. I can't believe the improvement in construction quality. The board is so much tougher, and doesn't chip. The days of having to use rail tape and worrying about every little knock or paddle strike are gone. I've been paddling and surfing supuk's board in very confused seas and downwind conditions for a few months now with no rail tape and it looks EXACTLY like it did when I first got it. Not a mark anywhere.

It's going to be very hard to go back to paddling one of the eggshell fragile and hugely expensive production boards. I just didn't know any better before. But now I do.

I did respray a board a few ears ago, having previously had virtually no experience before. I won't bore you with the long and painful details, but suffice to say that if I was doing it again I'd do as supuk suggests and get an automotive paint specialist to do it. It would probably work out cheaper too, in the long run. But if I was building my own board I wouldn't spray paint on it at all, like supuk says, but use a resin tint instead or just skip colour altogether.

Basically, listen to supuk.

surfcowboy

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Re: How are factory boards painted?
« Reply #5 on: March 29, 2017, 02:28:26 AM »
If you want a high gloss, you could consider a poly hotcoat over the epoxy but I hear that can chip over time as well. You can polish epoxy out pretty well if you want and then if it dulls you can re polish it later ( but you never will, I promise.)

Other sites have long threads about 2 part automotive clear coat finishes for boards. But yeah, super toxic.

supthecreek

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Re: How are factory boards painted?
« Reply #6 on: March 29, 2017, 04:36:43 AM »
I have never understood why SUP's were painted in the first place..... Pigment the resin for color like surfboards makes much more sense.

Badger

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Re: How are factory boards painted?
« Reply #7 on: March 29, 2017, 05:15:25 AM »
I have never understood why SUP's were painted in the first place..... Pigment the resin for color like surfboards makes much more sense.

I think they would if they could. Doesn't it have to do with the epoxy? Aren't epoxy surfboards painted?

You can add pigment to polyester resin but I always thought that it weakens epoxy resin as well as making it heavy.

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supuk

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Re: How are factory boards painted?
« Reply #8 on: March 29, 2017, 05:16:19 AM »
I have never understood why SUP's were painted in the first place..... Pigment the resin for color like surfboards makes much more sense.
its quite simple its to cover up poor materials poor quality of workmanship and a poor product. If people could see all the rubbish that I find under all the paint and inside boards and all the paint repairs I have to do you would understand why it frustrates the hell out off me.

supuk

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Re: How are factory boards painted?
« Reply #9 on: March 29, 2017, 05:18:51 AM »
I have never understood why SUP's were painted in the first place..... Pigment the resin for color like surfboards makes much more sense.

I think they would if they could. Doesn't it have to do with the epoxy? Aren't epoxy surfboards painted?

You can add pigment to polyester resin but I always thought that it weakens epoxy resin as well as making it heavy.

no not true at all you can pigment epoxy fine however does require more skill. its not quite as nice to work with as polyester and you cant do all the same techniques but it works fine.

ukgm

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Re: How are factory boards painted?
« Reply #10 on: March 29, 2017, 05:20:37 AM »
I have never understood why SUP's were painted in the first place..... Pigment the resin for color like surfboards makes much more sense.

I've seen a lot of fixes and filler that often have to be done. Without a top coat, the production scrap rate of boards would be sky high. Mind you, Starboard took it to extremes in 2014 going by what I've seen when a few of us sanded the blue paint off and saw what was underneath...........

Badger

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Re: How are factory boards painted?
« Reply #11 on: March 29, 2017, 05:36:00 AM »
I have never understood why SUP's were painted in the first place..... Pigment the resin for color like surfboards makes much more sense.

I think they would if they could. Doesn't it have to do with the epoxy? Aren't epoxy surfboards painted?

You can add pigment to polyester resin but I always thought that it weakens epoxy resin as well as making it heavy.

no not true at all you can pigment epoxy fine however does require more skill. its not quite as nice to work with as polyester and you cant do all the same techniques but it works fine.

Surely if pigment was the way to go, the better brands would be doing it.

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supuk

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Re: How are factory boards painted?
« Reply #12 on: March 29, 2017, 05:48:59 AM »
I have never understood why SUP's were painted in the first place..... Pigment the resin for color like surfboards makes much more sense.

I think they would if they could. Doesn't it have to do with the epoxy? Aren't epoxy surfboards painted?

You can add pigment to polyester resin but I always thought that it weakens epoxy resin as well as making it heavy.

no not true at all you can pigment epoxy fine however does require more skill. its not quite as nice to work with as polyester and you cant do all the same techniques but it works fine.

Surely if pigment was the way to go, the better brands would be doing it.

the way most boards are built is in a way that minimizes the need for skilled labourers higher quality materials and the time it takes to build each board to maximise profit. Unfortunately this doesn't mean you are getting the best quality product.

I repaired a board the other day that had a warning sticker saying that the board should be rail taped before it is used as the paint would chip from normal use, I appreciated there honesty but surely that is a clear indication of not fit for purpose!

Area 10

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Re: How are factory boards painted?
« Reply #13 on: March 29, 2017, 06:22:04 AM »
Yes. The brands are basically screwing as much money out of us for the most cheaply-made product they can get away with. You can't blame them - they aren't running charities, and their distribution networks and marketing budgets and skills allow them to exclude the competition quite effectively. Most of the main brands are made in the same factory, so that factory has almost a de facto monopoly. Fortunately, the costs of the main brand's products (partly due to transport costs) has now risen to the extent that small local brands and shapers could be profitable, and can compete on price and quality. We are already seeing smaller boutique brands appearing amongst the podium finishes at international races, and this tendency may continue to grow. Hopefully the increase in competition will drive an improvement in build quality. The customer can also play a part in this, by not accepting shoddily-made gear.

Bean

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Re: How are factory boards painted?
« Reply #14 on: March 29, 2017, 07:11:11 AM »
Badger, epoxy is certainly one of the reasons why in production, boards are painted.  An epoxy finish takes a ton more work to get to gloss.  Whereas you can polish a polyester resin to gloss from  a final sanding at 400 or 600 grit, epoxy resin requires sanding to 3000+ grit before it can be polished.  And even then, it does not look as good as poly. This is of course why many custom boards come with a sanded finish.  (Plus a sanded finish is faster and holds wax better.)

Throwing a polyester gloss coat on epoxy does not work well either, because at best you will have a mechanical bond between two materials that have different flex characteristics and expand and contract at different rates. 

So, the compromise has been urethane paints for colors and clear coats.  Not a bad compromise in my book.

 


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