Diving Board Revival

[RecurveArcher]

Our diving board needs a bit of renovation, the fiberglass has worn off along the middle and the wood is starting to be exposed. Here's an older picture from when we moved in.

I've since power-washed it to remove the algae and other scum on it, and the wood grain is now much more visible; sorry for the poor picture, but here's a post-power wash snip of the front corner of the board:

Despite the wood starting to be exposed, the board still appears to be in good condition, no warping, no apparent loss of strength, etc.

What can be done to revitalize the board? Can we just paint it with a marine or epoxy paint? I've also seen diving board repair & resurfacing kits, but not 100% sure how they work.

 

[JVTrain]

Is the wood bare or is there still a layer of fiberglass over it? How is the texture in the center of the board? Is it still non-slip textured?

If the wood is exposed, I would use a marine primer first. Then a topside paint. If the wood is not exposed (or after priming) I would go with a quality marine paint such as interlux brightside Interlux Brightside Polyurethane with this non-skid additive: Interlux Intergrip Non-Skid Additive

 

[Geebot]

There are specialized diving board refinishing kits with a 2-part epoxy and non-slip additive.

Amazon.com : Olympic Diving Board Resurfacing Kit - White Finish : Patio, Lawn Garden

I was planning on doing a board refurbish myself until we experienced a complete failure of the board at the end of last season (completely split at the free end).

 

[Isaac-1]

From a person that has seen a diving board snap in half, I would replace it.

p.s. Like new diving boards can often be found on craigslist and other similar garage sale listings due to home insurance companies forcing people to remove them. My current one was even free (3rd diving board replacement for the pool in 37 years) due to someone being forced to remove it by their insurance company. The last one was still in fairly good shape, but was starting to show some cracks, and well it was free and only 2 or 3 years old.

 

[tgodon]

Our 18 year old diving board was not looking great. At first I tried spraying it with appliance epoxy, it looked great but was very slippery when wet even with the existing grit still there. Next I tried a matte finish boat deck paint with added grit, and it was still slippery when wet. My final solution has worked out great. I sanded the top of the board with 150 grit on a palm sander, cleaned the dust off and applied self adhesive boat mat with a diamond pattern. We could not be happier, it is better than it ever was, even when new. The mat provides great traction wet or dry, a non-abrasive cushion for your feet, and is not hot to the touch. Attached is a picture of the final result. They were out of the 16" width mat so I got the 24" and cut it to the needed 16" width. The holes for the bolts were made with a 2 1/2" hole saw. It had adhered to the board very well and after a month of use including a big family party it shows no signs of wear or peeling.