I'm pushing my 4th season with the abangs. I am not invested in these skis at all. They are mainly my park thrashers, early season rock skis.
I've already had to repair partial tip delam and an edge that was about to pull out.
Bases are getting pretty rough too.
That being said, I wanted to bring back the asthetics of the ski -- mostly as a fun project.
I hit the top sheets with an orbital sander starting off at 100 grit and moving to 220 until the graphic was removed.
I then hit it with a walnut stain. Had to let this soak longer than normal. The top sheet is very thin before it hits the layer of fiber glass. As such, it's not the best median to absorb the stain quickly.
After the stain set over night, I hit it with 4 thin coats of satin polyurethane clear coat and let that dry over night.
I had an extra sheet of grip tape lying around and decided to do a top sheet graphic in light of the "skateboard construction." Honestly reminds me a bit of Pollard's older graphics.
The grip tape will also help to protect the top sheet from my skis crossing. Again, not worried about the potential damage on the bases from the grip tape.
I would say the final product is how these skis should look from the factory. The wood grain is pretty kick ass! These things will make great wall hangers at the end of the season. Enjoy!
