A painted snowboard is a great way to show off your personality and develop your artistic skills. This post will provide you with snowboard paint ideas to jazz up your board.
Quick Jump
What is Snowboard Painting?
Simply put, snowboard painting is the act of painting a snowboard. This could be done at a factory where snowboards are mass produced for sale, or someone doing it themselves from the comfort of their home. In addition, snowboards can be painted from scratch or repainted if the owner wants a new look or to maintain a current look.
Can You Paint a Snowboard?
Yes, you can actually paint a snowboard! While it is not easy to do so, the process is simple and you can do it yourself. You’ll just have to make sure you have the right materials and equipment on hand. This will make your job 10 times easier.
But before you do that, you’ll have to get your hands on some snowboard paint.
Snowboard Paint – Where to Purchase
Thankfully, there isn’t a specific paint you’ll need to use to paint your snowboard. But we’ll focus on spray paints. Using spray paint is the most convenient and effective method of painting your snowboard. Keep in mind that before you paint your snowboard, you need to decide on your paint color.
You can choose from any of the following spray paints with different finishes; flat, semi-gloss, gloss, high-gloss, satin, and metallic.
How to (Re)paint a Snowboard
Repainting snowboards isn’t difficult — although, it can be tricky. The steps below are similar to that of painting a snowboard from scratch, with a few differences:
- Prepare your work area: Ensure you have all your materials and equipment at your workspace. You’ll need to have enough space around your board to be able to work around it. Place a newspaper on the ground or on the table you’ll be working on. Using a table is better than having to constantly bend over your board on the floor.
2. Clean your board thoroughly: You’ll need to have a clean canvas before you start painting. You can use dishwashing liquid or another cleaning solution to clean your snowboard. Alternatively, rubbing alcohol can be used to clean your board.
3. Sand your board: Use sandpaper to sand the top sheet of your snowboard. You’ll have to scrub a bit to sand your entire board. Do this until your board feels rough. Note that you don’t have to sand your board excessively — you just have to ensure you sand the entire surface of your snowboard evenly.
4. Tape the edges and seal the binding holes: After sanding your snowboard, tape the edges thereof and use cotton buds to seal the mounting holes. You need to do this to ensure that paint doesn’t get sprayed onto them. Painter’s tape or masking tape can be used to tape the metal edges of your board. Ensure you don’t fold the tape onto the top sheet of your board. Ensure the tape is folded underneath the board and onto the base.
5. Prime your board: This is where the fun starts! Grab your primer and spray it evenly over the entire surface area of your board. To ensure that the coverage is even, spray in straight and even lines. Priming your snowboard before is just like using a primer to prime the surface of a vehicle in preparation for painting. You’ll need to wait approximately 24 hours for primer on wood to dry completely in a well-ventilated area. Once 24 hours have passed, you can rest assured your board can be spray painted with a main coat.
6. Coat the board with a main coat of paint: Using your desired spray paint color, shake the can and evenly spray the entire surface of your board. To ensure you get an even coat, spray all the way until you reach the newspaper.
7. Design your board: If you have stencils or cutouts for a specific design, grab them and place them neatly on your board so you can begin spray painting them with a different color (if you so choose). You use tape to get straight lines, old cutout plastic bottles for circles, or even graphical instruments for more technical designs.
8. Use clear coat: Apply a coat of clear paint over the entire surface area you’ve just painted. To avoid chipping or fading away of the paint job you’ve just done, this is a necessary step. Ensure you spray the clear coat evenly over your board because it is thicker than the usual paint. Wait for the first layer of the clear coat to dry properly before you add a second layer of clear coat. This will provide adequate protection and you’ll avoid having bubbles and stiff paint.
9. Clear your workspace and allow paint to dry: The final step is clearing up your work area, leaving your newly painted snowboard and newspaper on the table. It is recommended you wait 20-30 minutes for your board to dry. You may have to wait longer if you used more paint. Once this time has lapsed, you can remove the tape from the edges and the cotton buds from the mounting holes of your board.
Spray Paint Snowboard – Important Considerations
- You can use other types of paint to paint your snowboard, but spray paint is the easiest to use.
- Work in a well-ventilated area and wear a mask to ensure you don’t breathe in paint fumes.
- You may want to use two layers of newspapers to ensure your work table doesn’t get stained.
- Visit sites, like Pinterest, for snowboard painting ideas.
- You can resurface your snowboard by following the same steps as above.
Is It Worth Learning How to Paint a Snowboard?
Absolutely, yes. Having a freshly painted snowboard — especially one that you’ve painted yourself — gives you a sense of pride. Nothing beats the feeling of knowing that you’ve customized your board to your liking. You can hit the slopes and show off your (newly) painted board to all your buddies.
Once you’ve figured out how to paint your snowboard, you can practice some after-care and learn how to wax your snowboard to hydrate and protect its base, ensuring it lasts longer.
