Anyone Tried Vinyl Wrap?

TinBoats.net

Help Support TinBoats.net:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

MrGiggles

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 12, 2017
Messages
1,039
Reaction score
328
Location
Springfield, MO
I'm at the point with my project (84 Tracker Tournament V17) that I am starting to think about outside coatings.

The factory paint is white with orange decals, and is pretty sun faded and chalky. The hull is straight and does not need any dent repair.

Thinking about doing the outside in carbon fiber pattern vinyl wrap. Anyone tried it?

Paint seems like a lot more work, having to prep the surface, tape off the edges, and mask off the interior and outboard. My garage is not big enough to paint it inside either.
 
Wraps are pretty common now days. They run about 10.50 sq/ft around here. Adds up in a hurry.
 
eshaw said:
Wraps are pretty common now days. They run about 10.50 sq/ft around here. Adds up in a hurry.

Just looking at wrap from eBay it looks like I could do the whole boat for 100$ minimum and have plenty left over. I'd only be doing the sides and the transom, the bottom is not coated from the factory and I don't have plans to change that.

Just from watching videos, it doesn't seem that difficult. Clean the hull up good, make your borders with knifeless tape, lay it on, smooth it out, pull up the tape to trim the borders, then heat it up to activate the adhesive.

I'm sure there is a learning curve though.
 
MrGiggles said:
DaleH said:
I looked into carbon fiber and was told it doesn’t last in constant UV exposure.
I haven't 100% decided on color yet. Think about bright white, CF, gray, or black.
FWIW my source told me to go with regular black vinyl and it would last 3-5X longer or more (meaning, it may eventually lose it's sheen, but you'll still see the decal ... like we still see decals on old boats from early vintages.

To make the carbon fiber look, epoxy layers are used, but epoxy is wicked susceptible to UV exposure. Like on regular hull name decals, the 'in' look is rounded or domed letters, but that too is done by a clear epoxy added on top of the decal that is then dried upside-down. Those only last for a few year too or work if your boat is stored out of the sun when not used.
 
I'd guess that the prep work for a good vinyl wrap is about as labor intensive as the prep for a decent paint job.

Subsequent scratches and tears in the vinyl wrap would be more difficult to repair than subsequent scratches/tears on the paint surface.
 
I looked into having a wrap done for my Sylvan, it was going to cost well over $3000 and then you have to be very careful of it at the dock, loading the trailer... I'd far prefer to have a good paint job instead.
 
uttexas said:
I'd guess that the prep work for a good vinyl wrap is about as labor intensive as the prep for a decent paint job.

Subsequent scratches and tears in the vinyl wrap would be more difficult to repair than subsequent scratches/tears on the paint surface.

With solid colors you can just lay a patch over the damage. It's supposed to be very thin and overlap is barely noticeable.
 
I think that the vinyl you're talking about is totally different than the vinyl material professionals use for wraps. You should go to a shop that specializes in wraps or contact a company that does this type work and ask the for a sample. You'll see a big difference in the thickness of the material. There's just no way the two compare to each other than there both made out of vinyl. The material that is used in a wrap is a printable vinyl material also, that's how they get so many custom designs. Another thing you should be aware of is that once it's applied the edges are also sealed to prevent water intrusion. Any wrap will also be subject to damage. They aren't intended to be below the water line and will show damage if installed over chines if subjected to collision, i.e. rubbing. I've never seen a wrap that included the transom area either, not saying it isn't done, it just doesn't make a lot of sense since they're covered up by engines, stairs, or what have you.
 
I had a race car wrapped at one point. Reason was, that it was supposedly easily removed when the time came (which it did). I told them what it's purpose was, and that it gets rubbed against, things fall in the trailer against it, it will subject to UV (sunshine), hot, cold, but not much water other than maybe dew from time to time at the track.

I also had a quote for paint in the same pattern. My idea was not an elaborate pattern, just 4 colors, and nothing extravagant.

The wrap was about $150 cheaper, and since I liked the idea of being able to remove it, that's what I went with.

I got one year out of it-and that's being liberal. It faded. It scratched a lot easier than paint. It peeled. There will always be bubbles under it during application and the way to get bubbles out is to put a tiny hole in it, then either roll or squeegee it out. The hole is supposed to be sealed back up but I questioned that. This wrap went over bare aluminum body panels that are flat, so sort of like a boat. No major rounded panels. Fairly sharp corner transitions from the top of the body to the sides. Fuels do not play well with it. You can't wax it for UV protection like you can with normal paint. After 11 months of it, I decided to unwrap the remainder starting at a peeling point and have it painted. They said it was easy to remove. Bull melarchy. Apparently the adhesive gets baked into the aluminum. It took me almost 2 months to get it all off (working every day after work for 3-5 hours and then some Sundays). That was about 9 years ago give or take a year. After I got the wrap all unwrapped I paid a guy to paint it in my scheme of choice. As said, about $150 more than the wrap. But I have waxed it several times, it still looks as good today as it did then. I've had to touch up a spot here & there specifically where I climb over the body to get in, and a rock or whatever gets stuck to a shoe, that sort of thing. You can't touch up a wrap that easily.

They have their place but a boat (or in my case a dragster) isn't one of them unless you never use it, and just plan on showing it only. Maybe the newer stuff is better. I don't know. I don't want to find out, unless it's free and comes with a warranty.
 
I looked into a wrap when I restored an old Lund, thinking it might be easier for me or cheaper than paint. My final decision was to have some one professionally paint it. I found that you had to do all the same prep work for the wrap as the paint. All the flaws telegraph through the wrap and every rivet needs to be dealt with individually.

I found a local body shop that would prep and paint my hull inside and out from from the chimes to the gunnels for $1000. I applied the graphics and lettering myself.
 
Most of the guys that I know use wraps for the advertisement of their business. If you have a car or boat that you use for a business you can can advertise on them or sponsors can get their business out there and get a write off at the same time.
 

Latest posts

Top