Ideas to repair and reuse your old surfboards!

Surfing is a sport that is born in nature, it uses its water, its waves and its wind, and it is very important to respect these elements. Today we must, more than ever, be aware of our commitment to the sea and the environment and it is clear that we are increasingly aware of this aspect.

Every gesture counts; from giving our surfboards new uses, to completely renewing them to continue using them or buying boards 100% made with recycled materials.

We leave you ideas to give a new life to your surfboard and you don't have to say goodbye to them:

How to completely renew your surfboard step by step?

It all starts with trimming, refinishing, reshaping and changing the fins… but the process can get complicated along the way. So that you do it well, we indicate the steps to follow so that you can renew your old surfboards and that the result is perfect:

1. Clean the entire surfboard: This will help you find any faults on the surfboard, such as dents, cracks in the grain, problems with the lamination... It will be easier if you remove the fins. Do it with a cloth and a scrub brush and see how much work you have ahead of you.
2. Start sanding: Once you've cleaned your surfboard, you'll have a much better idea of ​​how damaged your board is and where the damage is.
3. Remove the fiberglass: Do it with a suitable tool and only in those areas of the board where there are many bubbles or a lot of air accumulated between the fiber and the foam. Be careful not to remove glass shards that are still attached to your surfboard's foam.
4. Use resin: There are many suitable for this type of arrangement, which you can use to fill in the part that has been left without fiber. Make sure it covers the entire area, including the edges. Let it dry overnight. You can also apply the resin on other fissures or cracks that you find in your board.
5. Apply the fiberglass patches: When you have completely leveled your board, apply the fiberglass patches over the areas where you used the previously removed resin. Cover it with plastic and press it against the fiberglass. When dry, remove the plastic.
6. Sand the surface of your board lightly: Make sure everything is level. Use another mix of special resin to fill and when dry, sand it again.
7. Paint your board: Once remodeled, you can give it color and put all your creativity into practice!

Next, we leave you a video where you can see how a table is renewed from scratch:

How to recycle paraffin from my surfboard?

Another element that can also harm the environment is the paraffin in your board. To give this wax another use, we indicate how you can extract it from your surfboard and what material you will need:

• A brush for wax (paraffin).
• 1 empty container preferably metal.
• 1 clip.
• 1/2 tablespoons of coconut oil.
• 3 drops of food coloring (this is optional).
• 1 hard silicone mold.

Steps to follow to extract wax from a surfboard:

1. Removing old wax or paraffin from the surfboard:

Old wax is a problem. It adds weight to the board, it loses grip and becomes useless. Ideally, we would remove the remains of paraffin every time we go surfing, but many times, out of laziness or impatience to get into the water, we postpone it and in the end a large amount accumulates.

Removing the remains of the wax from your surfboard, it will not take you long. The first thing you should do is put your board directly under the sunlight (if the day allows it). The paraffin will melt quickly. If the weather is not favorable and the sun is not shining, pour hot water over the board or use a blow dryer to heat the wax.

Simultaneously, begin to scrape the board with the edge of your paraffin brush. Establish a pattern; Either you start from the tail and go to the nose, or vice versa. Continue this process until you can clearly see the original color of your board.

Finally, apply a specific degreasing spray on the board for this purpose and clean the board until it is completely dry. If you don't have the spray at home, you can do it yourself; apply pure coconut oil to the board or sprinkle sand from the beach and remove every last grain with a wool towel.

2. Put the paraffin in the metal container:

Collect all the paraffin that you have removed from the table and put it in the container. You can add leftover wax scraps wherever you keep your board, or even in the trunk of your car, if that's where you transport it.

3. Boil water and add the tablespoon of coconut oil:

Bring water to a boil and put it in the pot with the wax. This way the wax will become liquid. When you have gotten the wax melted and the liquid has been created in your boat, add the coconut oil. Also add a few drops of colorant, if you like, to give the wax a new look.

4. Finally, introduce the wax into your chosen silicone mold. In this way, your wax will adapt to the shape of the mold and you will have a beautiful decorative candle made with recycled paraffin.

How to paint my surfboard?

Painting your surfboard can be an incredible therapeutic exercise, because you can give your board a new personality in case you don't like its design so much anymore or the original color has faded a bit due to wear. Put your creativity into practice and say who you are through your board!

To paint your surfboard you will need:

• Color painting
• Permanent markers
• Brushes of various thicknesses
• Cartons
• Rag or kitchen paper
• Hair dryer
• Piece of String
• Anything that can be used to draw curves

Steps to paint my surfboard:

1. The first step is to draw your designs on the cardboard. Use any tool you need to perfect the most difficult shapes, curves or details of your design.
2. The second step is to cut out the shape of the drawing from the cardboard.
3. The third step is for you to start painting your board, with the help of a brush or a brush. This way you will be tracing the background of your design.
4. The fourth step is the following: when you have established the background, you must fix the paint with the help of heat (you can use a hair dryer).
5. The fifth step involves using permanent markers to outline the outline of the drawing. Use the templates that you have previously cut out, as well as other accessories that can help you perfect your design.

There are tons of options when it comes to paint that you can use on your board. The most common are :

• Water-based paints: They dissolve in water, they barely smell and are easy to use and clean. If your intention is to surf with it, it is best to protect the painted area with lacquer or varnish. In this section we can also include acrylic paints, temperas, inks and watercolors.
• Solvent-based paints or enamels: This is the type of paint you would use to paint a garage door or a bicycle. This type of paint is usually more dangerous and difficult to use, but it has the advantage of being much more resistant.
• Aerosols: Although the main manufacturers are already launching water-based paint aerosols on the market, the most common is to find them with solvent. They are characterized by their speed of application and drying, and by the durability of the finish.

What other uses can I give my surfboard?

Instead of throwing away your surfboard, why not integrate it into your room? You can place it vertically on your wall, as a mere decorative object, so that the memory of the waves you rode in the past is not completely erased.

If your house is decorated in a fresh, slightly vintage style, and exudes a spirit similar to the sea breeze, you can put the boards on the wall of the living room, bathroom or even kitchen. Unlike other types of paintings or living room decorations, which often tend to give an impersonal air to houses, and it seems that you are in a furniture store instead of the place where people are really themselves, without decorations, putting Your surfboard as a decorative element will give a refreshing and original air to your rooms, and of course, it will give it much more personality and you will feel more at home, it will have your essence!

Another original idea is to turn it into a hanging shelf, tying the board well to the wall so it doesn't come off, or you can even turn it into a shelf. In this way, you will give a different and very practical style to your room. You can allocate that corner of your house to the world of surfing and the sea... surely you have shells and sand from the beach at home that you have kept year after year. Put them in a jar and put them on top of your table-shelf. If you have a picture of you or a loved one surfing, it's time to print it out, frame it, and place it next to the shell boat. You will create your little tribute to the waves from home!

Don't throw away the keels either! Use them as bookends. It is a very simple but very recurring and visual idea. Take a stack of your favorite books and place them between your keels. They will be safe and they will be fulfilling a very useful function. When you bring visitors home, they will surely notice your occurrence!

Another very top idea is that you turn the keels into coat racks to hang your clothes when you enter the house, or the keys... or the mask!

If you have an old wooden surfboard, you can keep the nose, and after tinkering it up a bit, you can turn it into a wall clock. Peculiar, curious, but surely cool, and, above all, different.

Another of the coolest and simplest things you can do with your surfboard is to turn it into a table. Imagine, on a Saturday, with friends in the living room of your house, having an aperitif on a surfboard with legs. People will want to come back.

If you have more than one surfboard, and a double bed... Turn them into the headboard of your bed! You will wake up feeling like you are somewhere in the tropics, warm and all day ahead to surf.

Recycling of polystyrene surfboards

Resurf Project is an ecological project whose objective is the reuse of polystyrene surfboards. We are facing the first project in the world that seeks to produce new surfboards using old or used boards that cannot return to the water as base materials. The characteristics or the type of board do not matter, they are all valid: stand-ups, paddle surf boards, surfboards…. Even bodyboards.

The "Resurf" project contributes to the protection of the environment as well as directing the sliding sports sector towards a more sustainable field of operation and production, which is necessary, since we move in a sports field that represents a style of life with a particular relationship with the ocean and nature.

Approximately 400 are produced worldwide.000 surfboards each year. However, when a board breaks, it is disposed of without giving it another chance, thus, 100% of the surfboards or bodyboards we use end up buried or incinerated.

Although polyurethane boards cannot be reused, Styrofoam boards do offer this opportunity. These are the boards of surf schools, lifeguards, and also those of many practitioners of sliding sports.

In addition to giving new uses to our old boards to help the environment and be more aware that things don't stop working so quickly, there are initiatives that are responsible for creating surfboards using mainly recycled materials.

Here is this impressive initiative:

Gloria and Ángel Rodríguez Arnal are two young artists, who created an open and undulating project 8 years ago, like the waves. The name they gave it was `Connecting the corks´ -Connecting corks-.

The objective of this project is to offer clean alternatives, recycle and take advantage of wasted raw materials. This is where the use of cork comes in: In Spain, more than 2,500 tons of cork stoppers are thrown away each year. This material has ideal properties to become the core of surfboards.

When plugs are recovered, they are classified by size, “each plug has its own personality and its place on the board”, and they are placed in hexagons to form the structure of the board, thus reducing the weight of the board. "A technique that we have learned directly from bees, nature is undoubtedly a great teacher in design and engineering," details the co-founder of the company.

More than 5 years ago the team patented the first 100% cork blank. Thus was born the first alternative to an industry that was not manufacturing its products with sustainable materials, but with very unhealthy elements that generate a great environmental impact, far removed from the natural essence of the original surf. What a great and sustainable idea! Did you already know her?

Now that you know the infinity of opportunities and options you have to contribute your bit to the environment, and not only conserve, but also give a second life to your surfboard, with which of all the ideas that We have offered you will you stay?