Painting skis?

im guessing like a paint for plastics ( im no paint expert) but for sure you need a layer to seal the paint
 
NO!

don't prime it, don't clear coat very much

I had a whole thread that I explained it in but I can't find it anymore because of the new searchbar

Basically, start out cleaning it with some grease cutter and if you have it, denatured alcohol.

sand it to make it a little rough, with like 100 or 120 grit sandpaper. not too rough.

Spray like 5-7 VERY light coats of KRYLON BRAND FLAT WHITE on there,

the last coat should be just enough to cover up the graphics. The idea is that you spray so thin that the paint dries almost instantly upon touching the ski. You don't want wet paint that will set up into layers that will crack and flake off when the ski flexes.

after that, wipe it down with a dry cloth and use sharpies to decorate it.

then, use a VERY LIGHT coat of clear coat to seal the sharpie.

 
for the clear coat, maybe use 2 coats, but again real light, only just enough to fully seal the sharpie on there.

 
i paint all my skis. before you paint them sand them down real well or the paint will chip right off. if the skis are dark you will need to prime them. and when your done sand them a bit, like just scuff them up and put some laquer on them. then sand the laquer and put another coat on. put a few layers of laquer on and sand each one before another coat goes on. if you have a good paint gun you can wet sand your skis and laquer them over and over again and eventually they will look like they have a layer of glass on them.
 
the sharpie will fade, and they can get scratched from edges, also snow that gets kicked up by the tips or tails when skiing one direction or another will rub off some of the design eventually. Overall though, it's pretty durable

 
i am a profesional painter, but not a professional ski painter.

the 2 most important things will be

-sand lightly but thouroughly (evrywhere) to break the sheen, any fine grit sandpaper will work.

and

-use durable paint. i sugest oil based of some sort (dries much harder, way stickier) you might also want to do some reaserch and find some paint that is desinged to withstand cold temperatures without peeling/flakeing/cracking/checking

primer coat aint a bad idea although i doubt its nescesarry if you use oil paint and as long as your not sanding down to bare wood core. wouldnt hurt though.

also

people have been saying to use spray paint, theres nothing wrong with this but i would suggest using a roller for at least the 1st coat (fine finish roller, you could use a small one, known as a wizz roller) this will help the first coat penetrate into the tiny grooves you have made by sanding it (this is called backrolling in the industry). you can just spray the skis then roll them, so you dont also need like another setup for the roller, just run the dry roller over the skis after spraying them while theyre still wet.

and

clear coat will make inevitable chips/scratches from edges less noticible.

i have never painted skis so all of the above is not to be trusted.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top