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Hey I’m a skater from Seattle in my last year of high school. My school wants me to create a deck graphic on a blank and sell it at their auction while proving me the funds to do so. I have a few questions about the best materials for my board.

1. Does anyone recommend a good sealant or mixture? I’m thinking classic polyurethane after getting the painting down. Is there a type I should get?

2. I don’t want to completely paint over he wood, I want to still see the wood streaks in the background (like dog town boards). Is there a certain kind of stain recommended to do so? And do I have to prepare the wood at all before painting or staining?

3. What kind of paint is recommended? I’m used to graff markers and sprays. Would those work?

Thank you so much if you can answer any of these questions, i can even tag you in the I g post when I finish the board. Happy holidays!

Hey, welcome to the forum!

1) I almost always use basic polyurethane from Home Depot. I usually get water-based Varathane in a can that I can brush on, but for a single board, a spray can would probably work great. Just make sure to wait until your paint is fully dry (perhaps do a test piece, too, to make sure the paint and poly don't react with each other and cause the paint to dissolve).

2) As long as you're raw wood, I don't think you need to do any surface prep for the stain or paint. I don't have a ton of deck graphic experience, but I've never put down a primer for spray paints or brush-on acrylic paints, and I've used food coloring to do stains. I usually do a test on a scrap piece of wood beforehand (and highly recommend doing that).
If you have a board that's already coated (if this is a blank you bought at a skate shop, it likely is), then you'd need to sand the clearcoat off before staining. If you are using spray paint, you may not need to sand the clearcoat off (I've been able to spray paint already clearcoated decks and the graphic held up), but for most other paints, you'll likely need to sand it off to get good adhesion.

3) Spray paints have worked great for me. Just make sure they are fully cured (not just dry!) before coating with a polyurethane, otherwise it may dissolve (hence the scrap test piece recommendation). Acrylics have worked well for me, too. I've done Sharpie graphics, and those can be tricky - on raw wood, they bleed; on top of polyurethane, they tend to work decently well, and that's how I usually applied them (and then I'd apply 1 or 2 more coats of poly over top to protect the graphic).

This is all just my opinion, though, and I'm sure other builders may have other thoughts on this. I can only share what I've personally experienced.

Hope this helps!

(And it would be rad to see your work when done! @opensourceboards on IG.)