Looking for some advice on longboard restoration. had a classic longboard built in highschool, and rode the board daily. it took a beating, the white stripes on the board are faded, there are dings that were fixed, but not properly sanded, and there are black "stains" on the board where it was strapped to a roof rack for flat spells, sometimes days at a time. Think it is some type of vinyl residue from the straps/pads. I know i can't reverse any sun damage or waterspots. but i want to strip the board down to the bare fiberglass. really get all the wax off, all the vinyl residue, etc. I also want to sand down the repaired dings. Does anyone have any recommendations for these issues? Basically, i need some type of fiberglass cleaner that will clean the board. The typical wax removers are not doing it. there are years of wax, sand, dirt, and board rack residue on this thing. Also, any tips for sanding a repaired ding after it has cured for 15 years? All tips are appreciated.
Bestine - nasty stuff, but will clean the old wax. Can get it Micheal's crafts by the rubber cement. Dig out the old repairs and start new. Sand the whole thing down, and put a new hotcoat on it after you've got it cleaned up and repaired. Or call Greenlight.
Mechanical removal of wax crust first... I get the board warm and use a plastic putty knife: http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1272715&cagpspn=pla After that, solvent... the nastier the better. A rag soaked in acetone, gasoline, lighter fluid... whatever... and elbow grease. Then block down all your old dings with 80 grit, machine the whole board with 120, wash with soap and water, dry with a clean towel, pick up lint with cheap tape, regloss with Reichold gloss resin, rub out and polish.
"The nastier the better." DO NOT USE METHYL ETHYL KEYTONE (MEK). It will eat the glass... If you use Acetone, wear nitrile gloves. Acetone absorbs through your skin.
MEK, Correct, do not use. Acetone eats true nitrile. use chem gloves(stripping gloves, or even some household cleaner gloves work)
You don't need ANY active chemicals to take the wax off, but you may need to visit a local shaper first. Warm up the board and scrape off as much wax as you can, then take polyurethane foam dust from a previously shaped surfboard blank, spread a little at a time on the deck and work it into the wax with a paper towel or soft rag. This works surprisingly well with very little effort and you don't need that much dust. You could probably clean 2 or 3 boards with a quart-sized ziplock bag full of dust.
