Restoring a classic Hobie longboard that spent years cooking on a wall

A customer brought in his father's original Hobie, delaminated and split after years on a wall in Inland Empire heat. Here is how it was brought back, by Brian Wright.

This one came in as a wall hanger. It was a customer's father's original Hobie from when he was a young man, and it had been hanging on a wall for years getting cooked by Inland Empire heat. The glass had delaminated and the board was in bad shape.

The family told me they were never going to surf it. I restored it so it can be surfed anyway.

Faded classic Hobie longboard hanging on an outdoor block wall — Years on the wall in the sun.

Classic Hobie longboard, delaminated and split after years of heat — How it arrived.

Stripping it back

The first job was getting the old fiberglass off and cutting the fin off. With the glass gone, every missing chunk of foam got filled, either with new foam or with Q-Cel filler, and the dark stains in the foam were cleaned out.

Nose of the Hobie with the fiberglass lifted and the foam crumbling underneath — The nose: glass lifted, foam rotted out underneath.

The original single fin cut off the board and sanded back — The original fin, cut off and sanded back.

Rebuilding the nose

Build-wise, the nose was the hardest part. I had to cut ten inches off it and rebuild that section from scrap pieces of foam, then shape it back in. I wanted it to come out with a classic Hobie look, not just a nose that happened to fit.

Hobie blank with ten inches of the nose cut off, showing clean foam and three stringers — Ten inches off the nose, back to clean foam and stringers.

Foam blocks fitted to rebuild the nose — New foam blocked in for the nose.

Glass, tint and the original logo

Once the foam was back and shaped, I tinted the resin cream. The deck got two layers of 6 oz fiberglass and the bottom got one. The best part: I was able to save the original Hobie logo laminate and put it back into the board. The family was stoked about that.

The original Hobie diamond, cut out of the old glass in one piece.

The original logo, back where it belongs.

The saved logo on the finished board.

The mural

For the deck, we ordered a custom mural printed on 2 oz fiberglass from boardlams.com and laminated it in. It turns the board into a memorial piece for the man who rode it.

Restored Hobie with the memorial mural laminated into the deck — The finished deck.

Fin and finish

The large single fin was cleaned up and glassed back on. After everything cured and was sanded, the deck and bottom got a light satin finish coat, and the fin was air-sprayed to a high gloss.

Single fin glassed back on and sprayed high gloss — Fin back on, high gloss.

What it took

This board took a while. Smaller repairs for people who were going to surf their boards that week kept going out the door first, along with custom board orders at One Revolver. The hardest part overall was not giving up. There were plenty of foul-language days. The story behind the board is what kept me going past good enough.

The family was happy enough with it that they brought me another classic Hobie of his to restore. That one is in bad shape too.

I am very proud of this board.

Have an old board worth saving?

Resin & Rail restores vintage and sentimental surfboards in Menifee, California, for owners across the Inland Empire and the coast from San Diego to Los Angeles. Longboard restorations like this one are quoted from photos. See the price list, look at more of our work, or send photos for a free estimate.

Brian Wright, Resin & Rail Surfboard Repair