For anyone thinking of giving their Nalu a bit of grip up front (I was slightly apprehensive), here's how mine turned out! Test ride this afternoon hopefullly

Great job.. How many coats did you do..

Thanks DJ, I just followed the instructions on the can which is 3 light coats 20mins in between each.

Nice job! I just sprayed 3 light coats on my Surf Caddy last night too. Hope to try it today. If its good I'm putting it on all my boards.

Thanks Ezric. It certainly looks nice and neat, and far less messy than wax. I was getting tired of wearing reef boots in summer for traction. I'm just hoping I've sprayed enough on, as masking the lines/deck pad took a while and I don't really feel like doing it over again.

JoffaDan, can I ask how 'abrasive' it is? ie. I'm assuming it's not like skateboard grip abrasive, but wondering if it will take skin off if you catch a knee or elbow on it when bailing?

Roscoe, good question, it is quite abrasive. It is actually very similar texture to a skateboard grip, just not as fine.

I think it will smoothen out over time with more use (as mentioned I haven't even had it in the water) . It's fresh at the moment, so I definitely think there would be some skin loss if I was to catch an elbow, knee etc.

Looks very nice Joffa, by the way does any one know any one in Vicco who sells monster paint?
I think everyone is sick of wax or wearing booties.

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rodriguez said..
Looks very nice Joffa, by the way does any one know any one in Vicco who sells monster paint?
I think everyone is sick of wax or wearing booties.

I had trouble finding anything locally (and even online there wasn't much). One of the guys from Wind Surf n Snow posted on here a while back that they had some in stock, so I got in contact with them over the phone. They were very helpful! It ended up costing around $50 shipped to Vic. I still have 3/4 of a can left so enough for at least another 2-3 boards if the Nalu works out.

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JoffaDan said..

rodriguez said..
Looks very nice Joffa, by the way does any one know any one in Vicco who sells monster paint?
I think everyone is sick of wax or wearing booties.

I had trouble finding anything locally (and even online there wasn't much). One of the guys from Wind Surf n Snow posted on here a while back that they had some in stock, so I got in contact with them over the phone. They were very helpful! It ended up costing around $50 shipped to Vic. I still have 3/4 of a can left so enough for at least another 2-3 boards if the Nalu works out.

Hey Joffa thanks for the reply,thats very helpful.

No worries bud!
Had a chance to test out the Nalu front end last night in some tiny waves. I'm very happy with the traction paint. It's grippy under foot without feeling like you're walking on sand paper. I'd say it's similar to walking on the front end of my JP pro (with the matte finish). The surface did seem to smoothen out a bit after it's first session in the water so I'd say the 3 light coats would be an absolute minimum.
Thumbs up from me!

I got to try it out yesterday and I will be putting it on all my boards. It wasn't as grippy as wax as it isn't 'sticky', but plenty of grip to get up on the nose which I was never able to maintain before. So nice to have no mess from wax. I think Joffadans description of the grip on his JP pro is spot on. It will be interesting to see how durable it is but if it ever wears a bit, you just spray another coat on. I used under half a can to do one board with 3 coats. I'm hoping to do lighter coats and get all three boards done.

Mine didn't feel too rough like it would take skin off. I probably sprayed it on a bit too thick which makes it less abrasive. I might even try and dust the coats on lighter when applying it to my next board/s.

DIY on the cheap men.


Coat of clear - then throw sugar or sand on when wet.
Wait to dry then hose off
Sugar will dissolve and leave you with a great non slip surface.

Salt is generally larger therefore ruff.

Perfect for ramps, boards, decking etc or a true matt finish paint job.

Just don't skimp on paint. You get what you pay for.

I've heard white art sand you get from craft shops does the trick and dries clear'ish too.

Although some clears (especially the oil based poly's can yellow with exposure to UV, so it'd pay for a DIY'r to research that). Minwax water based polycrylic is good on my skaters and doesn't yellow, it might be ok for the job. Never tried it on an sb or sup before though.

The Nalu wasn't cheap so I just went with the tried and true.