Vinyl Wrap?
 

Anyone ever do any boat sides or decks with this. I've done numerous large decals etc but never anything this large of scale. Was thinking primarily the sides and then potentially the deck. Watched a couple YouTube videos but of course they do it in the speedy motion and have 4 plus people helping. Nothing scares me to tackle but I don't want to o waste a bunch of money on wrap vs paint if I totally fail. I have patients and paint friendly but this is something I thought I'd ask about. One of those things that could go either way. About the only thing I contract out is machine work. Pretty handy with most things in general. Boat is a simple 32' don aronow hull. Sides are probably 30" max from bottom to rub rail.

Tks
John

It's been beaten around in the fiberglass/paint section. Pros; cheaper than paint, not permanent, easier to do crazy designs. Con; Not permanent and easy to tear up against a dock and not easily repaired, and you just can't get that high gloss that you can with paint and gel.

you have to know what you can do under certain conditions(temp, humidity, sun etc) and it is tricky on stepped, curvy area's, just did a 25 center console, will try to post pics, not saying you can or can't do it, hard to tell someone else's experiance, but if goes bad its a $$$$ deal...

http://s227.photobucket.com/user/ezs...0oyag.jpg.html

http://s227.photobucket.com/user/ezs...8zwum.jpg.html

http://s227.photobucket.com/user/ezs...vvk50.jpg.html

http://s227.photobucket.com/user/ezs...48sjg.jpg.html

http://s227.photobucket.com/user/ezs...keina.jpg.html

http://s227.photobucket.com/user/ezs...pjeys.jpg.html

thought I could get them to come right in...nope

Friend in GR just did a 38' PQ. Scroll through the site.
www.facebook.com/FamousWrapsLLC

No way I would be happy wrap over paint... The gloss and finish just is not there at all..

I agree Tim. 100%.
The phrase "50 footer" comes to mind. Wraps look good from afar, but not as you get closer.

Tks for posting pics. If there is any way to post pics of rookies post I'd appreciate it as I do not have face hooker and can't get any pics without an acct. looks like the center console turned out well. Pretty slick if you have the know how. I can understand some opinions not liking the low gloss but at the same time unless paint is perfection it can also look bad. I was kinda looking to do it to expedite a project probably won't be around very long so I just didn't want to spend endless time prepping etc before paint and just wanted this done. I ordered some samples and applied to boat just to see what I could get away with in regards to the finish under wrap and it's not real forgiving. If I was to do it I would finish glass work prime and block and finish with a coat of sealer then apply. My shop is clean but I have some fears with particles letting lose from foam ceiling while painting with compressor running. Thought this might be an alternative but...

Painting might be my best solution though from what it sounds. I know I can lay a decent paint job down but wrap does scare me just a little and then as mentioned it's not easily repaired if you get a gouge or tear down the side of the hull. Either redo the side or put a decal over it about only option.

My initial thought was time saving and not having to deal with overspray/masking but prolly when all said and done time would be near the same.

Tks guys. Now I get to look forward to canary yellow boogers. Great...

I purchased a newer aluminum trailer here from an OSO member and can't wait to load it on.

John, take a look at racelinedigital.com. They are in Canada but ship all over. I have done two large (6'+) models with their graphics. Much less expensive than paint, and there are multiple pieces depending on the design and color, so if one gets damaged the whole graphic does not need to be replaced. I painted my 28' center console with vinyl lettering and decals that I had custom made. Good luck. Bob.

I had a full wrap on my old 25 Talon. I would never do it again, good from far, far from good and it ripped just looking at it. It was done by a professional company. Purely my experience.

Pretty cool. I think I've come to the conclusion that I may just paint yellow and use black wrap for stripe down the middle of deck and one down the side that would look similar to my 28 challenger in the avitar. It will still save time and expedite the overall finish as well as break things up a little in which case I have an imperfection here and there. Tks guys.

It's all about expectations and depth of pockets. I have a wrap on my 31 year old scarab and would do it again in a heartbeat. The gloss is really good but you are right it is not like 10 coats of clear. It also doesn't cost $10K+. If you have the artistic ability you can make the design as mild or wild and the price stays the same (unlike paint). Yes you need to treat a wrap with potentially more care than paint but again I don't worry about as much about it because I don't have the cost of a small car tied up in a paint job on a 31 year old boat!

Again it's all about expectations!

when it comes to wraps, there are TONS of material out there, the 1st thing everybody is all about is price, so hence the low gloss, not laying down etc. its all about the $$$$$ you want cheap, going to look that way, we have found that we ONLY use 3M 1080 on color change wraps and base material for printed ones, also the lamanate is the gloss, just like clear on a paint job, put less cheap clear, you get lower gloss, use high gloss good quality lamanate, you get the nice glossy finish. if you want to buy price online to install yourself, be warned, may as well take your **** to maaco !!

Ya the gloss yellow that is almost a spot on match to gel bottom is surprisingly glossy. I had s company send several swaths / samples and not disappointed with the gloss or color what so ever. I get the pros and cons and just want it done already. Considering the boat it's going on I'm not going to treat it like a new skater or top gun. Like the old saying goes why put perfume on a pig. The boat is a cool old wave crushing hull and basically that's exactly how it will be treated. I live practically on a lake with Lake Michigan access so the boat will pretty much be an afternoon run here and there and a nights stay a few times a year. So really vinyl wouldn't get beat up much at all however could from an occasional rafting with other boats. I just wanna get out and run the lake shore again without spending a bunch on an old boat that is going to be used temporarily as a fill in btwn boats.

I think I may at least order enough 3m wrap to try it out on my Hardin Marine style blower scoops. If I can do those flawlessly then I'd feel pretty good about taking it to the next step.

Maaco is what I assume to be like an earl scheibes here in MI. They use to paint cars dp for like 150 bucks and it looked like it. Well unfortunately I worked in a body shop for years during school and learned two things. How to paint and how much I didn't ever want to do it for a living. It's really not a matter of the how much I wanna spend but more so it's for a temporary project until one of my homes sell or golf course sells. I doubt the boat would see water more than a season so perfection isn't huge concern. Something I was going to keep long term or sell would be completely different.

Was kinda trying to get more if an idea of how difficult it is to apply more so than how it looks etc. I realize pros cons but if it's not something I should tackle I will just paint it. That I know I can do.

How many friends do you have? I'm thinking at least one on each end with one or two in the middle working the squeegee out. It's not a one person job.

I bought a wrapped boat. Have since peeled the wrap. 50 footer is the truth. Pain in the ass to remove. I would never wrap anything and I certainly will never buy a wrapped boat again. Good luck with whatever you choose.

Depends on the time of year. Lol... I hear what your saying though and this being a case where to many can be catastrophic and not enough could be devistating. It be most important having the select few who you can communicate with signals and body language. Otherwise you get the everyone is an expert so listen to my idea kind of day. You know the drill.

John, actually it can be a one person job. The surface is wetted with soapy water and there is plenty of time to accurately position and squeegee the graphics. I did ten foot graphics on my center console by myself. I just tape up the paper covered graphics with good quality masking tape and then get reference points with tape at the corners and elsewhere so that it is easy to align everything when it is wet out. Of course, a friend's help would be nice. Bob.

tried to tell/show you...then got plenty of comments from other experts...and the post above is prime example, you NEVER install wrap material wet

I hate peeling off old registration stickers and stupid names on the back of boats - I'd be furious if I had to do that on the whole boat! No wraps for me.

Either way it's real basic. Here's a carbon copy year etc with deck mods

I was going to say the same thing! :)

If you buy the right material with the pressure sensitive adhesive and the air release channels then you could do it by yourself. I would highly suggest at least one other guy to hold the wrap off the boat as you position, remove the release liner and get a portion of it stuck down!

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i4...ps4e8fj9u0.jpg
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i4...pszki7ajqc.jpg

Cheap material, hard to come off. Decent quality material, comes off almost as easy as it went on! :)

Watch this video!

You will see that no soapy water is being used! :)

https://youtu.be/zjlYXMOFtBg

Hey guys,

Raceline Digital uses high gloss, color vinyl film, not a printed product. There are several advantages, our graphics are die-cut so there is no overlapping material and so allows for repair should you damage any part of the graphic - just remove and we can open your production file and cut the element(s) so you are not stuck with having to remove the entire side like other products.

Anyone looking to replace their existing graphics can submit a side photo to us. Select some graphics listed on our website and we will mockup what the graphics will look like free of charge. This is the link - https://www.racelinedigital.com/stor...00261efd0b02bd

Happy to answer any questions you have, been servicing the marine community for over 20 years.

Chris

when it comes to removal, couple of things, if it sits in direct sun all of the time, about 3-4 years is all you are going to get out of a wrap on top surfaces, and if thats the case some are going to be hard to remove, some company's say clean removal 3 years. If it already is starting to crack up...you are done...going to be hating life removing. Another thing, seeing chinese knock off material all over now, we do lots of installs where people buy online bring to us to install, seen names to try to fool people being used, again buyer beware of what you buy online when comes to this, there are good company's out there selling quality material, but lots selling garbage...

Do NOT confuse installing a wrap with graphics that do not use air release adhesive.

You DO NOT put a wrap on wet, EVER.

Just wanted to clear that up.

OP, for what you want to do it sounds like a wrap is the way to go and luckily for you, your hull doesnt looks that hard to do !