Airbrushing a surfboard

Mr. Flibble

My brother wants an airbrush set for his birthday to paint his surfboard among other things. Can anyone suggest one to buy and which type of paints I should get. I know very little about the subject. Will I need to get a compressor?

Are there shops online where I can order whatever I need in one place - paint&+ gun & whatever.

Any help/tips appreciated.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

There's a thread about this towards the bottom of the page (top of page two...?!)

To answer the sepcific questions, yes he will definitely need an air compressor (and they can be expensive). Someone posted up this link which could be useful.

http://www.organicimage.com/

Also, http://www.dickblick.com (but they're in the States)

Might be worth ringing Kennedys in Harcourt Street in Dublin. They do airbrush supplies and I've bought inks and compressors there as well.

As regards surfboards, that souldbe tricky. AS far as I know, they need sanding and possibly specific paints as well.

Hope that helps...

Mr. Flibble

Could you copy in the link to the thread you are talking about please? I can't find it.

If anyone can suggest a type of paint and an airgun & compressor that won't break the budget I would be very grateful.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

No worries.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054949840

Mr. Flibble

Cheers

glide

i might know a bit about this as i make them!!:D

it depends what type of board it is plastic or fibreglass?

plastic (bic) a spray can from a car shop will do as a lot of other paints wont stick

fibreglass any water based or cellulose paint will stick though use a mask with cellulose, paint cans will work aswell

sand the board lightly down to 400 grit from 180 first just to clean off any crap

compressor wise you can at the moment get cheap hobby compressors in car shop at the moment saw one for €60 the other day, airbrush wise start off with a cheap kit most art stores have them for around €30.

dont get talked into buying the top of the range as they are difficult to use.

glide

i might know a bit about this as i make them!!:D

it depends what type of board it is plastic or fibreglass?

plastic (bic) a spray can from a car shop will do as a lot of other paints wont stick

fibreglass any water based or cellulose paint will stick though use a mask with cellulose, paint cans will work aswell

sand the board lightly down to 400 grit from 180 first just to clean off any crap

compressor wise you can at the moment get cheap hobby compressors in car shop at the moment saw one for €60 the other day, airbrush wise start off with a cheap kit most art stores have them for around €30.

once sprayed you will need to apply a clear coat (lacquer) over to keep paint on (this is only for fibreglass) a car shop will have a spray can of this you will need two coats

dont get talked into buying the top of the range airbrush as they are difficult to use.

Mr. Flibble

Cheers. I think I'll just use car spray paint then. Do you suggest putting some sort of lacquer over it after painting?

FiSe

Hi, I would say so... Lacquer protects paintwork underneath it and seals everything into a smooth surface, if you want to go that extra mile with sanding - spraying - sanding - spraying process. But, no matter what paints you using, make sure this clear top coat is compatible with those paints. And one more important thing - I think, that you should primed this surf-board first.
Anyway, I am getting my paints and 'brushes mainly from uk based www.airbrushes.com, for lacquers try your local crash repair body shop or motorfactors, they should be able to give you more specific advice as well.
And there is my work www.madclowndesign.com I don't want to make a cheap score with this last page, but I want you to make some picture about user named FiSe

glide

u still havent said what material the board is made out of?

you dont need to prime it just a light sand will do as car paint will stick to anything.
and then a couple of coats of lacquer

Mr. Flibble

glide wrote:

u still havent said what material the board is made out of?

you dont need to prime it just a light sand will do as car paint will stick to anything.
and then a couple of coats of lacquer

Its a BIC, mass produced factory job - I think this makes it plastic? Not sure.

foamcutter

What's the best filler to use on a glass fibre board. The glassing job wasn't done well.

Sorry about the cross post

FiSe

foamcutter wrote:

What's the best filler to use on a glass fibre board. The glassing job wasn't done well.

Again, not so simply to answer, depends on what job you want to do...
Two-pack polyester automotive filler should do fine. U-Pool is what I am normally using, but there's many brands out there.

glide

dont put anything 2 pac near a glassfibre surfboard if it goes on the foam inside it will burn the foam and it wont get a good bond at all!!!
when you need is surfboard resin and catalyst, wax in styrene and glass bubbles/cabosil which is a resin thickener and a small bit of white water based paint

put 50ml of resin in a clean pot add 1 teaspoon of catalyst 2 drops of wax in styrene so it will be sandable and add the cabosil and a drop of paint then mix till you have a semi thick paste then add to the hole sand down flat once fully dry.

hole filled

now it has to be glassed over. to seal it from the water

to fix any dings and holes pop to the local surf shop and get a copy of ding repair scriptures €10 tells you everything.


bics are easy to paint just use car paint and car lacquer though after a few months the paint tend to chip off but then you can just sand it back off and spray something else