Articles > Customising an ATB

This is my ATB before painting as u can see there are 2 main areas where the paint has been rubbed off this is from using it as a snow board last time we had snow (you got to try it if you don't mind messing up the paint J) its also rather bright so I decided to repaint it.
This is my ATB after painting and re-assembly. Now I had never tried painting anything like this before and had no experience of spray paints at all. So with a bit of advice from my dad and the few bits of info I found after searching all the forums I could find I started thinking of ideas. Remember when thinking of ideas make sure you know how you're going to do them. 2 of my 8 ideas were scraped because I couldn't think how I would actually be able to do them. I split the painting process in to 5 stages:   1. Sanding down the board   2. undercoat   3. base colour   4. Design   5. Clear coat But before you start any of that I would take pictures of you're board not only so you can do before and after comparisons but so you can see how to put it back together other wise you will have to search the internet to find out which way round the trucks had to go.
Images like this will help u to re-assemble the board when you are finished. Little things like noticing the black plastic between that board and the trucks is slightly thicker near the end of the board than near the middle.
Another thing to do before you start is to make sure the paints you have are compatible this just involves doing a test piece on a scrap of wood while you're doing this it may also be useful to have a go at a technique you might need for your board The wood I used was ply which wasn't very smooth at all. This showed through the paint and even in the image (above) you can see the finish is not smooth this just lets you know you will need reasonably fine sand paper to get a nice finish. I used wet and dry. You can also see I had a go at a stencil and a fade that didn't really work but it meant I knew I had to do it slightly differently on the board. Now you need to take the board apart making sure u store all the bits some where safe. You should have a set of Alan keys to remove everything and to get the grip tape off just pull.
Equipment A list of all the things I used: Sand Paper 600 and 1200 grit Plasti-kote Fast Dry Enamel Plasti-kote Primer Plasti-kote Clear Acrylic (I used all the same brand to help ensure they are all compatible) Contact adhesive Humbrol Enamel
Stage 1: Sanding You need to sand off all the old paint to help the new paint stick I started by using some 600 grit to take most of the paint off then finished it using 1200 grit wet and dry The 1200 will give a really smooth finish. Make sure you do this out side because I had bright orange fingers and clothes from the dust created. Some people think this looks good as it is and I must agree it would be pretty cool but I wanted to stick to my design if you want you're board to be plain go to stage 5 although I can't guarantee the clear coat will stick. You may also need to sand it a bit more to get every last bit of the original paint work off.		Note: before moving on to stage 2: wash the board to get rid of any dust!
Stage 2: Undercoat This is a layer of paint that helps the other paints stick to the surface of the board. It is usually matt black. The trick with all spray paints is to apply little and often. After my first coat you could still see the wood through most of it but then the next coats will covers it up. That applies to all layers not just the under coat.
Stage 3: Base Colour It is advised to use a single colour for the first layer and then build you're pattern up on top of that. For me the base colour was gloss black. You need to put on enough layers to cover the undercoat completely. Now the fun bit...
Stage 4: Your Design This is by far the most fun bit :) There are 2 main ways I can think of making good designs using sprays one is using stencils the other is a little harder it involves using the spread of the paint to get a nice transition from one colour to another. I did the bottom of my board using a stencil I used lots and lots and lots of sticky labels cut in to 1 inch squares and an oval of paper held down by the sticky labels. I then sprayed this green giving all the lines going down and across and left an oval in the middle for my initials that I also did by using a stencil I got the stencil for the letters from word using word art e.g. Just print it large enough to cut out and use.
When using stencils apply a VERY light coat as the paint may soak in to the paper this then sticks to the board as well and can have some nasty effects as I unfortunately found out the hard way. For the top of the board I had a go at making a nice transition between black and green which worked pretty good considering this was the first time id tried it (apart from on the test piece) To do this you use the fact that the spray doesn't have a definite end i.e.
Stage 5: Clear Coat Once you have finished applying you're design and are happy with it you apply several layers clear coat to protect your masterpiece. I used a clear acrylic but I have also heard of plastic based varnishes being used. Remember lots of thin coats. And you have finished. well almost. You still need to re-attach the bindings and trucks etc. but if you took enough pictures before dismantling it like I told you too it should only take five min's. To stick the grip tape back down I just used some contact adhesive and so far I must say it has actually stayed down longer than when I got it new. And of course you now need to post some pictures of your masterpiece :)
Wheels To paint the wheels I used Humbrol Enamel for the black and brushed it on then cut out some circles of paper to cover the middle ready for spraying. After Thoughts This is what I did and it worked for me however I cannot guarantee this will always work and it is in no way my fault if you try anything I have done and it screws up your board. If you think any of the things I have done might damage your board don't do them. This is just the way I have done it, Im sure there are other ways. Remember to a read the label on what ever spray you use as not all sprays are the same.