I can remember (somehow!) way back into the 90's when carpet drags were in vogue.
There were some pivotal years in the 90's when surfing turned a corner and got into its popularity stride. The surf shops were screaming for more surfboards to fill the racks. I worked in a few factories at the time, and each label, understandably, wanted their boards to look different than the others, especially when stacked next to each other in a shop.
This lead to several approaches, graphics and ideas that, quite frankly, were ridiculous! Especially if using the current generic stock spray of 2024 as a gauge.
To illustrate this, and without getting too graphic, a custom order from Holland wanted a cartoon squirrel with an erection the size of its own body on the deck, the entire length (excuse the pun) of the board. The bizarre nature of the request did warrant a photograph, but now decades later, it is nowhere to be found.
I shan't include a sketch of what it looked like, or how it fitted on the surfboard, I'm sure your imaginations can do a good enough job!
Luckily, in amongst the fevered attempt to keep the shelves stacked and custom orders pleased, there were some good sprays.
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| Old film photographs of my sprays from the 90's |
Before the internet, the only way to have a look around internationally, was to examine all the surf mags cover to cover. When a new spray was seen, the next step was to decipher how it was done. Many were easy to work out, but the odd one caused some head scratching!
One craze, predominantly British (I think), was spraying through doilies. Using doilies as a stencil left the pattern on the board. I remember trawling through charity shops to find doily sets among the tea pots, cups and crockery.
There was a flurry of using random materials to create a stencil to spray through or over – torn cardboard edges, fibreglass rovings, coins, fishnet stockings...the list goes on! This could be done in pin-lined panels, or randomly to create an abstract look. Occasionally, if done right, it could look good. Today, many would look dated, and in my opinion too tacky to be considered retro cool or vintage. But nothing should be ruled out!
One technique that stuck around for a while was the carpet drag. We would fill a roller paint tray and dip an offcut of carpet into the paint, before dragging it along the foam of a shaped blank in various directions, usually nose to tail.
The common sense way to achieve this look, is to use a wide paint brush. But at that time there seemed to be an idea that each sprayer/factory was trying to baffle their counterparts. It couldn't be just a paint brush...surely it was an offcut of carpet or another material. Turns out a paint brush works just fine.
So here is a short reel of a team riders board being paint brushed earlier this week!
