From Trash to Thrash

Recently I purchased a used Exile carbon-fiber skimboard. I've been skimboarding since high school and have been riding the same WaveZone fiberglass board for the last 4 years. It was really starting to not only show its age, but feel it too. Between dings, nicks, scratches and some insanely worn rails, battle scars of one form or another were beginning to dominate the real estate on the bottom surface. Similarly, I picked up the Exile board for a steal because it had some nose damage. With two boards in need of some TLC and the summer surf beaconing, it was time to get to work.
The photos are pretty explanatory, but basically I epoxied foam of a similar density to that which is in the boards into the damaged areas and shaped to fit. After mixing a batch of laminating resin, I alternated layers of resin and fiberglass cloth, liberally coving the affected areas. Allowing time to cure, I applied a second thick coat of resin to give it extra body, strength, and room to sand. Following the sanding I primed both boards and let them fully dry before painting the base colors. Getting closer to finished, the boards were masked with my designs and sprayed with the graphic colors. Once dry, the masking and stencils were removed revealing the first look at the final graphic. The final step was smoothing another double coat of resin over the entire bottom surface to create a seamlessly smooth rocker and protect the graphic. With just a few hours work, two skimboards that were ready for the landfill were refurbished and will live to ride another wave!