old boards

[Aguaholic]

I've had an old Hobie shortboard for some time now. And, I am looking to restore it. The PO had painted the bottom of the board I guess to cover up some repairs. I just sanded it down and stripped off all the paint. I would like to bring back that nice shine to the entire board. Any tips on a product to do so? Or the process of getting this done. I have done various repairs for years but never cared enough to buff out the areas. Anyway, I came across this product http://www.shapers.com.au/category17_1.htm Anyone ever hear of this before or have used it?

[MDSurfer]

Like any sanding process, it takes persistence, patience, and lots of elbow grease. Use progressively finer grits of sandpaper winding up with rubbing compound and finally polishing compound. Just don't sand unevenly, and above all else, don't sand all the way through the glass. Bottoms were typically thinner than decks which often had an additional deck patch for purported increased durability.

[Aguaholic]

Like any sanding process, it takes persistence, patience, and lots of elbow grease. Use progressively finer grits of sandpaper winding up with rubbing compound and finally polishing compound. Just don't sand unevenly, and above all else, don't sand all the way through the glass. Bottoms were typically thinner than decks which often had an additional deck patch for purported increased durability.

Yeah, that's what I figured...like autobody work. I've got some different grits and was gonna end up finally wet sanding it. So....now for the polishing. Are you recommending that I use rubbing & polishing compound? I mean that should work fine. But, I was wondering if there was something strictly for resin? I just don't want to use the wrong stuff.

Thanks

[browndog]

is that gel coat like a boat or would they just be a polyester resin?

[mitchell]

I've had an old Hobie shortboard for some time now. And, I am looking to restore it. The PO had painted the bottom of the board I guess to cover up some repairs. I just sanded it down and stripped off all the paint. I would like to bring back that nice shine to the entire board. Any tips on a product to do so? Or the process of getting this done. I have done various repairs for years but never cared enough to buff out the areas. Anyway, I came across this product http://www.shapers.com.au/category17_1.htm Anyone ever hear of this before or have used it?

That stuff is not like gel coat..its water based and very thin. I use surfboard sealer (product similar to that) on repairs, and sanded finish boards. It will make the colors pop a little more and give the board a shiny finish.

Did you think about just gloss coating the entire board? If the board is full of scatches that you will have to spend hours sanding out..80 grit..120 grit...220...320...600wetsand...it might be quicker and better looking to buy a pint of gloss coat resin and for the small weight addition of 8 oz per side (some of which will be sanded off) you skip straight to the fine sanding and NOTHING looks as good as a gloss coat..definately not that water based stuff in the bottle. If the Hobie is already gloss coated, and the gloss coat is intact then this is probably not necesary.

[Aguaholic]

Yeah I thought of doing a gloss coat......Like you said I can keep my sanding down. That's probably what I am going to do.

Thanks!