However: Even with all the work and frustrations, I really enjoyed doing this restoration project, plus I learned a lot.--especially what not to do. (Like start!)
Based on all the dings, shatters, sun and water damage, etc., #19 must have spent most of the first 50 years, being used--and used hard. Much good fun, I bet!
When I took the tail block off, about a third of the balsa under the fin was gone and replaced with solid resin Also, the fin had been remounted but not properly as it had over 1/4" of solid resin under it.
Number 19 had a ton of dings. Most were fixed with solid resin, Bondo, or other stuff. In many cases, the ding was filled with resin without cleaned out the sand and dirt, etc. (Must have been an emergency fix that worked, so why redo it?) And spots in the balsa wood stringer where there was rot. I routed out parts of the balsa stringer on the top (tail to sticker) and nose (top & bottom), then replacing it with 1-1/2" x 1/4" balsa. Under the fin, I had to replace about 3 feet of the stringer with 1-1/2" x 1/4" pine. I used pine there because I needed to build a solid base for the fin.
The more I got into working on the board, the more I wanted to fix her up and make her "Pretty" again. But, I also wanted to show off the "Battle Scars" that the board earned through the 50+ years. I ended up digging out all the large resin, Bondo, and junk ding repairs, and started to repair them as I would have back in the 60's.
Austin-Baird Surfboard # 19
Restoration or Autopsy
By Bob Baird
Last Update 10/25/2016
Some of the bigger dings that had to be repaired or redone are shown below:
After sanding through the added layers of pigment around the sticker, I saw the original green pigment. Getting a better look at the sticker, I could see that a ding right above the "s" in "austin". This ding leaked water into the sticker and stringer, darkening the "austin" portion. You can see on the "baird" side that the fiberglass had gone opaque. I was excited and wanted to see the rest of the board so I started sanding, and sanding, and sanding some more.
When I first saw Steve's Austin-Baird Surfboard, it was on the ground with the top side up. I noted the six stickers on the top and told Steve that I bet there were no stickers on the bottom. Sure enough, no stickers on the bottom. How did I know? We offered six stickers for free on a board, additional ones cost more money.
I decided to strip the glass off the top, and try to redo it to look like new, including a new sticker. The bottom showed more dings (battle scars), so I just patched it up, redid the green panels and put a gloss coat on it.
On January 30, 2016, my wife and I stopped by a meet of the Long Board Collectors Club (LBCC) near the California Surf Museum in Oceanside, CA. There I meet Steve Collins, the president of LBCC and he mentioned he has had Austin-Baird Surfboards in his collection over the years and still owns one. I joined the club and went to their next even on March 19th, 2016, as part of the Huntington BeachCruiser Meet at the pier. As part of the meet, there was a display of old surfboards by the Long Board Collectors Club including Steve's A-B board. I displayed the only original 60's A-B board that I have since it was new in the 60's. I also had photos of the shop, other Austin-Baird Surfboards, Surf Team members, surf magazine advertisements, and other stuff. Additionally, I had had some old Austin-Baird decals and price sheets for sale along with some Austin-Baird T-shirts I had made up for the event.
As I was getting down to the board's it's original design, there was something familiar about it. Then I remembered an old black and white photo taken before Christmas, 1963.
Would I do it again? Short answer, NO
The amount of time and energy used on the project was very high. It was a labor of love, however, If I were to find another board it this condition I would keep it simple. The problems I had with the dry rotted stringer and the solid resin used to fix the stringer under the fin, were just too much work. And the nose of the board was almost as bad. There were more than a couple of times I was ready to throw the whole thing in the trash.
The board was in the sun so much, the sticker was burnt into the foam.
Steve Collins, President-LBCC and his current Austin-Baird Surfboard.
One of the club members, Howard Clarke, said he had an old Austin-Baird board and would sell it for a very reasonable price. I bought it sight unseen and a friend of his brought it down to the meet. When I first looked at it, I wasn't sure it was and Austin-Baird. The sticker was all messed up and the board had at least a couple of layers of pigment on it. I took it home and started to sanding off the layers of pigment around the sticker.
While cleaning of the sanded board with acetone, I notice a number on the stringer. Board #19, made in the Fall of 1963.
Austin-Baird Surfboards booth at the Huntington Beach Cruiser Meet. 3/19/16