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I'm reshaping an old board and I'm gonna need a new pad. Does anybody have a recommendation? I'd like a piece about 24"x36" and I'd contact glue it. I can locate some but it's got that raised diamond pattern and I think it's more for standups- not bellies.

A mate of mine just got a couple of new knee boards they came with with raised diamond dimples on the pads , he prefers hard dimples so I will score the old ones so maybe contact knee board shapers.

kage wrote: ↑Sat May 20, 2023 6:08 pm I'm reshaping an old board and I'm gonna need a new pad. Does anybody have a recommendation? I'd like a piece about 24"x36" and I'd contact glue it. I can locate some but it's got that raised diamond pattern and I think it's more for standups- not bellies.

Where are you located?
Hydro turf in California makes a “brushed/flat” pad with no raised texturing.
https://hydroturf.com/products/sup-surf ... -mat-sheet

Or you can buy mini-cell T EVA sheet in 1/4” thickness (2-6 pcf) at the Foam Factory in Michigan.

That mini-cell T EVA looks just right. Thanks!

You might be able to dig up some thin sheet polyethylene at an area foam supply store. Some of the dense closed cell might take to wax better than the thinner cell. If not a foam supply store a lot of packing companies carry the stuff.

Two weeks ago, I added this blue, brushed/flat HydroTurf EVA deck pad to one of my first foam and glass channel-bottom BB prototypes.
Far from perfect, but fairly decent for a first-time deck pad application. Should do the job. Will see how well it holds up.
I smoothed the deck-pad edges with a microplane. The pastry roller worked well for smoothing the pad down, preventing air bubbles.
Seemed to hold up well after 24 hr riding on top of the car and in the water. No problems with traction in the surf.

Nice job and thanks for the report,

Thanks.
This answer I gave to a question on the new Sways might be useful here:
I used the HydroTurf “flat (brushed)” surf sheet that comes with self-adhesive backing (link below).
https://hydroturf.com/products/sup-surf ... -mat-sheet
The self-adhesive is/was for fiberglass surfaces. You have to specify plastic type by phone if not FG. My EVA sheet had been sitting in a box for 2 years (bought it for another project that I back-burnered).
I traced the pattern with my board template and cut it out with fabric scissors — found a razor cut line on the backing paper, inside my scissor cut line made things go smoother.
Played with some of the offcuts first to see how well they stuck. Was concerned that they seemed to peel off easily. Decided that maybe “total bonded surface area” might be what mattered most. So applied it anyway. Seemed to hold well enough — so I went with it — no problems in the surf.
Immediately after I applied it indoors, I did let it sit in the noon sun and warm up for 15-30 min with the idea that it might improve bonding. Rolled the pastry roller over it a few times while it was warming.
I did thoroughly remove all wax with the credit card method and follow-up solvent wipe/scrub (Zippo lighter fluid). Used window cleaner, then dish soap, after lighter fluid. Then thoroughly wiped/rinsed the deck surface down with distilled water at least twice.
Tried the Jimmy Lewis pad application method (link below) but things did not go smoothly with removal of paper backing. The pastry roller was a life saver.
https://vimeo.com/194402815

I got the mini cel TVA - looks like what I want but haven't been able to use yet. The project it was for had to be canned, oh well - starting over. I think I'll stick with the pad I have because I'm looking for grip and cushion. I think the hydro turf you are talking about is super thin?

kage wrote: ↑Sun Jun 25, 2023 10:48 pm I think the hydro turf you are talking about is super thin?

The Hydro Turf brushed/flat EVA surf mat sheet is between 3/16” to 1/4” thick. Decided to try it to add some traction as well as cushioning — it looked more comfortable than their textured surfaces (diamond, etc).
For a future build, I plan to try 1/2” thick, 6-pcf EVA for cushioning/impact absorption. Will need to apply adhesive for that.
To apply their EVA without self-adhesive backing, Hydro Turf sells Weldwood Original Contact Cement. Don’t know if/how that might affect deck finish if you wanted to remove the adhesive.
Link to adhesive application video I found for Weldwood and a Hydro Turf jet ski kit.
https://youtu.be/dRMFaaAwfHk

Barge Cement works very well for this sort of application.