someone had a question about graphics:

Do you have any tips for transfering graphisc from a computer?

I painted a board last year and the graphics aspect, although
completed, was a nightmare! The missing link for me is between the
printed design and the ready to paint masked off board.

1. I printed my design in 8x10 sections on sheets of regular paper
(OK)
2. I hand traced them onto airbrushing frisk film (still ok)

Then I had to apply the frisk to the board... If I precut the film
before peeling the backing you can imagine what happens with an
acordeon sticker when you try to apply it to a flat surface. F@&%!!
I cursed for hours! Cutting it on the board was equally frustrating.
I had a base layer of roller-applied red gelcoat which was a
little "bumpy". Cutting on a bumpy surface kept tearing the film.

In retrospect, the bumpy finish was what gave me the headache
because it also caused the paint to bleed underneath the bumps. I
would imagine that applying spray paint or any other smooth finish
instead of gelcoat would yeald a better result.

I guess I would like to pick your brains as to the steps you use to
apply graphics on the board. And have you ever tried appying clear
expoxy as a top coat (deck side or underneath)?

I recently made a ply stubbie, I designed the graphics on my computer easy enough, I printed two large stickers one for top, one for bottom, the material is UV ink on adhesive paper UV laminated, the result is like plastic paper, it sticks on easy with a hairdryer just keep a bit of overlap, for insurance I applied resin over the top afterwards. OK lucky for me I printed this at work for free on a large format plotter, It would cost about $80 at a digital printing company give or take. A bit of a tedious task next time I will just paint it and go with a red rocket!!

Hope this helps a little bit

In some 'paper'-shops they sell kind of rice-paper...
You can print or draw your designstuff on the paper and just laminate it onto your board. It get's very transparent when laminated.

I just finished painting a ply board with spaypaint and it worked fine. I traced the designs off the computer onto a roll of paper i got at ikea and used spray glue to stick it to the board while i painted. The spray glue can get really weird though.

get a quality branded cartoon character duvet cover for a kids bed, cut it and trim it and wet it onto the board. old pyjamas work well also.

Toby...

The best way I've found to mask your board off for graphics, is to tape off the entire board with 2" (5 cm) masking tape. Use automotive quality tape -- NOT hardware quality.

Over-lap each section of tape about 1 - 2mm, and use an Exacto knife to cut out your design right on the board. With practice, you'll get a feel for the pressure needed -- use only enough to cut the tape, but not so much that you risk damage to the lamination.

After the graphics are sprayed on, put a coat of automotive clear-coat over it to protect your artwork. You can also add some non-skid texture to the final clear coat if you want a rough (sailboard like) finish.

PM me if I can be of any other technical assistance.

Print your design onto transparencies, like you use for overhead projectors. Make sure the image is in reverse.

Put a thin layer of resin where you want the image on the board, and lay the transparency, printed side down, onto the wet resin.
When it's dry, you can peel the transparency off, since it's anyway a little oily to the touch, and apply another coat of resin to seal yor image 0 do it quickly, because it will dissolve the transferred image as well.

I only tried for b&w, but should be ok for colour. Test on some spare surfaces before you try it on your board.