Paint or Vinyl, What would you choose?
 

You want to spruce up your boat with some new colors, The paint you have either needs some TLC or is just plain, or outdated. Do you spend all the money to have it painted or do you do something like vinyl graphics and wrap the whole boat. Remember vinyl graphics offer as much creativity as paint at usually a fraction of the cost.

Paint it all white. Put on vinyl graphics. When your tired of those graphics peel them off and put on new ones. So I guess my vote is for both paint and vinyl:D

I plan on doing a vinyl wrap when I get my boat back from Cathouse.....

C'Mon guys and girls, 52000+ members on this forum and only 20 poll replies!

It only takes a second to post, Please post your opinion.

My husband is an ex-autobody guy so I voted paint. We copied a scheme from a boat a few years back and painted out Stinger.

While the graphics are unlimited, so is painting (not sure on the cost personally, guess it depends on what you put on the boat) and repairs are not difficult at all.

Depends on age and size of boat. I'm going to vote paint but in some instances I would choose vinyl.

I would go vinyl for the cost savings, almost zero design limitations and far less down time.

Is it the '84 Scarab in your avatar? If not, post a pic of the boat in question.
Dan

Paint, the vinyl never has the pop or depth of paint. The price difference might compell you the other way.

It is the 84 scarab. Here is the design I am looking to go with. This would cost a fortune in Paint. Considering I have the ability to do the design myself, The vinyl cost simply comes down to a cost per square foot for the material and installation. And...... I dont have to remove the existing blue on the boat currently, I can go right over it with the vinyl!

I like the thought of vinyl, which come resale time, could be easily changed by the new/potential buyer, especially if you do a crazy vinyl job, that some will not like. ALso many like the all white look, which obviously could be done by removing all the vinyl.

You gotta realize it's a big holiday weekend :D

I'm a little surprised that as I vote the split is almost 50-50. I gotta believe somebody doesn't realize what it costs to paint a boat. I bet there's very little that paint can do that vinyl can't. And those things put the cost of paint so far over the top.
If you have the desire and funding to design a unique show boat, paint is the deal. But for 99% of the rest of boaters that would like to update an old graphic design without breaking the bank and having little return on investment, vinyl is difficult to beat.
As the intricacy of the design increases, the cost of paint goes up, and the value of vinyl is more apparent.

I think it depends on the boat and the paint scheme you are looking for.

If you want a radical paint scheme, just wrap it. If you want simple, paint it.

I'm currently in the process of painting my Donzi, but it's going to be traditional Classic white/red stripe. It makes more sense for me to paint...

I sorta agree, but take a look at the nose of my boat. Concentrate on the shadow on the deck that runs front - back. Also note there is a slight raised area of the hull that runs from front to back under the rub rail, and of course the traditional arnow look of the area that goes 'down' before the rub rail on the deck. One of those things wouldn't be too bad, but all of them combined makes it a PITA to make look even half way decent with a wrap.

I also included one of how it looks now that I'm in the sanding process:eek:

We realize that we're fortunate Rob can paint and he paints well. The cost of materials/paint were minimal for us. If we had to have it painted professionally.....not sure it would have been painted!

If you want to wrap it let me know and I'll qoute you a price using 3M [email protected]

I like Vinyl, because it's alot cheaper than paint, non- permanent and you can change the look of the boat when you want.

That rendition of what you're thinking is going to cost a LOT of money. Then, as paint scemes go, the paint scheme will get old and the colors will date themselves. With vinyl you can tear it off and re-do it.

I did vinyl, I like it and it's held up way better than I expected. People are shocked all the time that ours is vinyl'd, they think it's paint. Vinyl has come a long way since the standard flat one demension colors of the 90's, you'd be suprised. I will admit though, vinyl does not have the total "depth" of paint. But you're talking a fraction of the price to do it vinyl instead of paint and it still looks great.

A buddy of mine owns a vinyl shop and priced my wrap for $2500 using 3M. My boat is a 27' but measures out to a 33' boat with swim deck and so on.....The design cost me $250, but I'm not sure I like the design anymore....here is a pic of the design...we did take the numbers off the boat though...
http://a138.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...3f3b0a1131.jpg

I saw your thread on the Donzi forum last night; congrats on finally getting started :D
At 20ft, single color, DIY I can certainly see the value in paint. Agree 100% that paint will "cover" those hull features easier than vinyl. But add a second color, any graphic pattern, and you're off to the races on paint cost.

I'm no expert on vinyl installation...the most I've done is put big, single-color vinyl stickers and numbers on my race cars. I was never concerned about how they looked within 10 feet; you could pick out the blend line. But outside that, and in all the pictures, they looked perfect.

My Formula hull has the same features that yours does. It comes down to the installer and how it's layed out.

I have been doing vinyl for over 20 years now, and the materials are really changing with the digital printing and lamanating, really does look like paint !! you can just about wrap a boat 3 times for the cost of one cutom paint job..all things being equal in complexity. I will have to say the earlier post on the quoted $2500 to wrap a 27' is not the norm, he must be a real good friend...hope that one works out !!! sorry....anyway the going rate is about $18-20 per sq ft on a wrap using the proper material that is laminated, for what it's worth, any body want to ask about vinyl feel free to give me a call, Rob, 540-786-8111

Vinyl always looks like vinyl. The more elaborate the design, the more it looks like vinyl. The only thing worse is an amateur painted-graphics job.

I prefer simplicity. White boat, minimal logo. If you can afford a $50K piece of airbrush artwork for your boat, that's great. If you want $50K worth of look on a $5K budget, expect it to look like it and everyone who knows the difference to notice. Sort of like a fake Rolex.

LMAO....

I for one want to have my boat wrapped although I'm not totally sure I will have it done as of yet. I have told some of my buddys who have commented on the design that "a sticker is still a sticker no matter how big it is..."

If you've got the bucks, go for the paint... but, if you have a good design and the job is done right, you can't tell the difference from 20 ft. Who cares if some anal jerkoff puts his nose in the air when he's inspecting your crack at the dock? I'd rather use that $$ for fuel for a few seasons.

The recent improvements are not so much in the vinyl but in the ink- it's much more resistant to fading from UV light.

Well when it comes to bad jobs, their are just as many bad(if not more) vinyl jobs being done as paint, seems like every sign shop out there that has been doing small signs and vehicle lettering thinks they can just "throw" a bunch of vinyl on something and have it look good !!!! I've seen more bad than good..but there are one being done out there that are kick ass !!!! and a lot of peole would never know that it was not paint !!!! so don't judge what can be done by the bad one out there. I have been battling the "sticker" mentallity for years and there is a BIG differnce between slapping a bunch of stickers on vs a true viynl graphics job done by someone who knows what they are doing !!!!! also the old saying.."you get what you pay for" holds very true for viynl as well, the good materials and equipment cost !!!!! and it takes a lot of time to do it right...so do the math... when it comes to jobs just look at race cars these days....both nascar and drag racing...most all of the elaborate "paint schemes" are viynl wraps, look at the funny cars in nhra..most all wraps now, the special nascar paint....wraps, all sponsors, decals, #'s all on one sheet....yes vinyl has it's drawbacks as does anything...but don't be saying that they all look like stickers !!!!

Paint is out of date when it comes to graphics, no doubt about it. If you go to a good place you can get good quality wraps done that you can't even think of doing with an air-brush or paint, some of it looks live almost. The good thing about vinyl is it can come off and be changed to anything you want in a matter of a day or two, unlike paint that is more perminent and requires lots of work to change what you want in graphics or the entire layout.

I'd have to disagree. The advances made in vinyl and the ink on the vinyl are nothing like they used to be. There's more depth with shading and a shine to the vinyl like never before.

Steve Schuble was tied up next to me in Havasu and did a double take of our boat asking, "is that vinyl?" Until you're right up on top of the newer style vinyls, it looks good. I like simplicity too. And that's whats cool about vinyl. When I'm tired of this paint scheme, I'll rip it off and go all white (whats under it) with a simple cig ovall in the back or something else very subtle. Maybe a slight yellow strip along the seem of the boat to match the rest of the yellow on it. don't know what I'll do, but I know I can change it at will for 1/10th the price (or a lot less) of paint.

But hey, If I could afford 50-75k paint job I'd send it to TAOD every couple of years and have it re-painted.:D

What about the durabilty of VINYL'S ? How will the edges of the vinyl hold up when the boat is used in rough water? I'm not concerned about the fading or the quality of the 3M vinyl just about the edges coming loose in everyday boating and an occasional Poker Run?

durability of it lifting is not a issue when using the proper material, the main draw back is damage from rubbing docks other boats, etc. the laminate protects it pretty well, but I have seen wraps done not laminated, goes back to that get what you pay for deal....I acually run a clear sealer along water edges if there is water pressure on a edge. But just rough water use not a issue...we also use the same material on airplanes and helicopters, I know some of you guys have some real fast stuff...but not as fast as aircraft !!

Paint - Vinyl
 

WOW This is my first post thought I had to settel for my old 87 240 sport baja plain jane never thought that vinyl could go over my old hull.

First... Welcome to OSO.com. Second... Yes vinyl really gives you some wild options. Do you have a design in mind for your baja?

I would go vinyl. I went the paint route on the last one and all I did was worry about it every time I tied up anywhere the cost to repair would have killed me. My next one will be mostly white with evry little or no color at all.

Vinyl is a lot harder to fix. Paint is an easier repair. Paint always looks better.

That may be true if the paint is all just base colors,but when you have all candy & perils it gets tuff and expencive. Like I said next will be mostly white. Its just way more classie and timeless:cool-smiley-026:

That is not an issue, Tank runs his boat in some big water and it has not had a problem. Even when he is tied up to a dock and the fenders rub against has not peeled the edges.

What are some of the companies that design and print these decals? I am thinking of updating the look this year. I want to do something on a smaller scale than the "lit cig", which looks GREAT for decals. Really just want to buy the decals and put them on myself, have a few years experience putting decals on Fed ex vans and lots of woodgrain on vehicles,haven't had to put that a car lately.