Vintage Surfboard Restoration

Resin and glass

Workshop

Wayne's workshop is situated on his farm on the south coast of Western Australia between Albany and Denmark.

The work areas are located in sheds that are nestled amongst the tall karri and peppermint trees. The sanding bay is open air and every work area has views of the forest and coastal dunes beyond. This location provides perfect inspiration for restoring the beautiful old vintage surfboards and the clean, fresh air is a welcome relief from the sanding dust and resin fumes.

Although the workshop is big enough to work on a few boards simultaneously, the preference is to work on one board at a time. This gives each board the special attention and customised service they deserve.

The workshop carries a full range of resins, tints, pigments, sprays and glass to tackle any restoration job. Many of the tools and techniques used by Wayne have been carried over from his decades of surfboard manufacture, repair and restoration since the 1970's.

Wayne is still a keen surfer and when not in the workshop or doing farm work, he is usually chasing a wave at his much loved home breaks nearby.

RECENT projects

1963 Cordingley

The grand-daughter of Duncan McPhail, Ashley McPhail, commissioned the restoration of her Grandpa’s original 1963 Cordingley surfboard. The intention being that the board would be initially surfed by Ashley and then eventually become a family heirloom to be displayed at their Yallingup beach-house.

The board came to the workshops in extremely poor condition. Almost the entire fibreglass on the deck had delaminated off the foam, from rail to rail. Significant water damage and rotted foam was also evident. There was also significant nose damage which had been previously patched and there were numerous unrepaired holes around the tail, along the rails and the bottom. Although still fixed to the board, the fin was significantly damaged with large sections missing. The original Cordingley logo was still intact but in poor condition.

A key feature of the board was a Western Australian Surf Riders Association (WASRA) membership sticker from the 1960’s, which had been adhered to the outer surface of the fin, but unfortunately had over 50% missing.

The key elements of the board to be retained (and highlighted) during the restoration process were the Cordingley surfboards logo, the WASRA member sticker, the original fin, the 1½” balsa stringer (which was warped and bowed out by approx. 2cm through the middle section of the board), the ‘T’band timber nose block and the blue stripes along the full length of the deck of the board. It was unclear whether the white gelcoat that covered the majority of the board was an original feature, or if it was applied at a later date to disguise damage.

Taking into consideration the overall condition of the board and the client’s future intended use, a decision was made to undertake a full glass-off restoration, primarily to return structural integrity and the original physical appearance of the board.

This process involved stripping off all the original glass, re-shaping the board to remove water damage and staining, then re-glassing the entire board in the same original techniques used in the early 1960’s. New logos were created by a graphic artist and reproduced onto tissue paper. The timber nose block was pulled apart, reglued, re-shaped and fixed back onto the nose of the board prior to glassing. The original fin was restored to its original shape and foil, the member logo was reproduced by the graphic artist, printed and applied under glass onto the fin, which was then fixed back onto the board. The blue deck stripes were finally applied and red pinlines were added to the top and bottom of the board to match the colour of the Cordingley logos and to disguise the rail cut lines. The entire board was then glossed and polished.

The 1963 Cordingley was a special restoration that had significant meaning to the family of the original owner, Duncan McPhail, who passed away some years ago. My relationship with Ashley and the family during the process added a level of emotional attachment to my work, which has shone through in the love and passion that went into the restoration of this special board.

Shaun Tomson Single Fin Restoration

This Shaun Tomson ended up being a full glass-off restoration to the bottom and rails, plus significant airbrush work to reinstate the colour and graphics to the deck. The original logos were successfully saved and the new fin worked out perfectly.

1970’s Hot Buttered Single Fin

With an original Martyn Worthington airbrush. All shatters were removed and glass down whole of both rails. Bottom stress fractures carefully ground out and reglassed (you can see the sanding lines across the bottom of the board - photo on left hand side). All colouring top, rails and bottom done with resin tints, and there was a bad gash on the rail near the fin box that required careful airbrushing.

1971 Blaxell Single Fin Restoration

The value of a restoration is not always measured in monetary terms or in the historical significance of a rare surfboard.

Special projects sometimes come along that represent much more than bringing a weathered old relic back to its shining glory. Surfboards can hold a special place in our hearts, for all sorts of reasons.

I had the recent pleasure of restoring a beat up old Blaxell single fin that, on first look, probably should have gone to the local tip. To a family that lost a brother and a son though, this board held the most important value of all… beautiful memories of a loved one.

Rodney’s board was purchased for him by his parents in 1971 when he was just 12 years old. He learnt to surf on this board at Falcon, a seaside locality about 50km south of Perth, Western Australia.

Rod sadly passed away in 2012 and the board was uncovered from the shed at the family’s Falcon beach shack in 2017. Rod’s sister brought the board to me in order to bring it back to its former glory as a special memory of her brother.

The board itself was typical of the transition era of the late 1960’s to early 1970’s, where boards became shorter and shorter over a period of only a few years. The Blaxell is only 5’3” long and has the distinctive “S” deck shape of the very late 60’s. The bottom was glassed using a beautiful teal blue pigment and the deck was clear with a classic black pin-line around the rail cut line.

My brief was to bring the board back to its original, brand new condition… just as Rod had first received it from his parents. My only real option to achieve this was to completely strip off all the glass, faithfully re-shape the blank to remove all the sun and water damage, fill all the major holes then re-glass the board using the original logo’s, fin, pigments and pinlines.

For me, this project wasn’t just about resin and glass… it was about putting the heart, soul and love into a special board.

1983 Town and Country, Hawaii Revamp

Twin fin, swallow tail, shaped by Nigel Perrow.

This board holds special memories for the owner, Marie. It was her father Alain’s board when he was 19 years old, some 35 years ago. Alain surfed it at all the top breaks around Reunion Island from when it was new in the mid 1980’s. It was a magic board that was much loved before it fell into someone else’s hands and unfortunately suffered extensive damage and some very dubious repairs.

Alain was able to recently obtain the board back, much to the delight of Marie, who always loved this board and wanted to get one made just like it… but unfortunately never did as it had gone missing.

Rather than have a replacement copy made, Marie and her father decided on a restoration, which would keep the heart and soul of the original board, yet bring it back to its former glory. The board was subsequently shipped to our workshop on the south coast of Western Australia, from Reunion Island, to start its new journey.

The restoration process was extensive. The board had previously been snapped in half, a fin had been knocked out, the nose and tail areas had suffered heat damage with significant foam shrinkage, there was a major gash through the main logo and there were dozens of shatters and numerous areas of damage over the entire board. The repairs that had been carried out were of a very poor standard, both structurally and cosmetically.

The restoration process had 3 main objectives… keep the weight gain to a minimum, ensure structural integrity and bring back all original colouring and features. Marie was adamant that she was going to surf the board, thus it needed to be functional and strong, as well as visually appealing.

All structural work was carried out to our exacting standards, before being sent to our master airbrush artist Scott Mahar, who spent approximately 10 hours reinstating all the colours and blending all damaged areas. The results were simply spectacular and a testament to Scott’s expertise, dedication and attention to detail. He is without doubt in a league of his own when it comes to vintage surfboard restoration airbrushing and we are very pleased to have Scott as part of our team.

Once the board came back to the glassing workshop, it received new gloss coats, top and bottom, followed by a high lustre cut and polish.

After approximately 35 hours work, this board has now been taken from an ugly duckling back to the beautiful board it originally was… and now fit for a princess.

1978 Santosha Revamp

Double flyer pintail, single fin, shaped by Mick Button, airbrush by Rob Allen.

The owner of the board has been a vintage surfboard collector for 20 years and this was the first Rob Allen airbrush mural he had come across… making it a special surfboard indeed.

Although the board was very sun-damaged and had extensive repairs undertaken with no colour-matching, it was fundamentally in sound structural condition.

The critical component of this restoration was to reinstate the original airbrush artwork and blend all the previously repaired work into the existing patina of the board.

All required repairs were undertaken, followed by heavy sanding over the entire board and new filler coats applied top and bottom. This would ensure a smooth and suitable base for all the extensive airbrush work which was to follow.

We are fortunate to have a collaboration with master airbrush artist, Scott Mahar, who undertakes all of our required airbrush restoration work. Scott’s attention to detail and impeccable craftsmanship brought Rob Allen’s original artwork back to its former glory, by blending the repaired work seamlessly with the original board’s beautiful artwork. Significant work was required, but the results were simply stunning.

Once all the airbrush work was completed, the board received new gloss coats, top and bottom, followed by a high lustre cut and polish.

The owner was ecstatic with the work and it now holds a special place in his extensive collection.

MR Single Fin Revamp

Designed by Mark Richards and shaped by Tony Cerf, circa 1976.

Although this board came to me in an extremely poor condition, it had fantastic character and was obviously very well used.

Besides being a rare example of an early MR single fin, it had a beautiful airbrush design on the bottom, depicting a perfectly breaking wave with palm trees in the background.

The owner was very keen to ensure that the history and damage to the board remained obvious after the restoration process. The extensive brown watermark staining on the foam blank was also a particular feature that the owner wanted to retain.

No fillers or paintwork were used during the restoration process and all repairs were done using resin tints to match the patina of the board. Shatters and stress cracks were mostly removed where possible, the fin was clamped back together and the entire board received a new gloss coat and polish.

The shiny new exterior still allows the boards past damage to shine through and it certainly oozes character from nose to tail.

A classic piece of surfing history in a category all of its own.

Pyke Single Fin Revamp

Made in Fred Pyke’s Torquay factory circa 1968, this board came to me in reasonable condition, except for significant nose and tail damage, plus a major hole in the bottom and a delaminated fin.

The board held sentimental value for the owner as it originally belonged to his uncle. The owner had a strong desire to ride the board, so it was definitely not going to be a wall hanger.

Given the board was in original condition, with no major delamination or twists, it was certainly worth preserving through an authentic restoration process. The significant damage to the nose, tail and on the bottom were carefully repaired and colour matched using tinted resins and volane glass.

All shatters and onion dents along the rails, deck and bottom were carefully removed using a fine grinding tool and the fin was glued and clamped back to its original state. The manufacturer’s logos had some minor delaminations, which required resin injection and clamping to restore them to original.

The whole board was then heavily sanded, re-pinlined, then glossed and polished all over.

A classic piece of surfing history from the transition era of the late 60’s, the board is now both a rider and a showpiece for the stoked owner.

McCoy Cheyne Horan Model Revamp

Dane Keoloha Town and Country & MR Revamp

1970’s Bill Monkman Cordingley Revamp

Andy’s 1968 Stringerless Cordingley Restoration

McCoy Lazor Zap Revamp

Lightning Bolt with Shane Egan Airbrush Revamp

The Crystal Cavern Surfboard Restoration

1930s Log Restoration

Len Dibben Restoration

Sebastian Inlet Single Fin Restoration

During the late 1970’s to early 1980’s, Sebastian Inlet Surfboards were sold in a surf shop of the same name in Floridana Beach, Florida, USA. The shop was located about 5 miles north of Sebastian Inlet, and just south of Cocoa Beach, the home town of 11 times World Champion Kelly Slater.

The surf shop was owned by Mike Mann who came to Sebastian Inlet from Miami in the 1960’s. It was only open for a few years, and there were a number of people who shaped for them, including Greg Loehr.

Prior to restoration, the board had been snapped in half with significant delamination on the deck. The restoration process involved re-joining the snapped board, repairing the multiple dings, stripping the glass off the deck and re-glassing with pigmented resin. Original logos were saved and re-instated onto the board. The bottom was sprayed to blend the snap repair and to match the original red pigment. A deck rail fade spray was applied and pinlines were re-applied. The entire board was then given a new gloss coat over the spray and polished to a high lustre.