Anyone tried a vinyl wrap for the @#%*^ blacks?

[Hardcrab]

I'm at decision height.
Either I "tip and roll" the black stripes with a good quality one part paint, or get them vinyl wrapped.
I am not going to wax those mothers again.
Looking online, most installers report a 5-7 year lifespan for the wrap.
From what I've seen, the whole boat down to the water line is the usual job.
I just want to do the blacks and perhaps the rub rail stripe.

The color chart for the 3M vinyl is really tempting, but I'm staying black.

For the upper blacks, I plan to start the vinyl at the outboard edge of the ports, leaving the center anti-skid area as existing gel coat.
The lower blacks will start at the outboard edge of the hatch, leaving the hatch cover anti-skid as existing gel coat.
This plan will leave me with a better foot grip in those areas and keep the vinyl from undue scratches.
I plan to remove all 8 of the side ports to make for a better job there.
That may sound challenging, but I just removed and replaced the two front ports with no issues at all.
My biggest unknown fear going in was the tenacity of the 12 year old sealant.
No problem; it released from the Plexiglas very easy, and putty knifed from the frame edges easily as well.
BWY has the same stuff the factory used, so I went with that for the new ports.

Does anyone have some stories, good or bad, about using vinyl wrap on a boats topsides??

[NiceAft]

Several years ago I got tired of trying to polish the raccoon stripes on my . I painted them. This is what I used.

Benjamin Moore impervex latex high gloss enamel (black).

I removed all of the old wax, used 600 grit sandpaper, and painted. It worked quite well.

Ray

[taylormade]

Does it look good when wet with water? If so, have you considered using New Glass? I did that on mine when I first bought it and the difference was night and day and I was done in about 20 minutes. It held up for about a year and a half and I need to do it again. I can show a before and after if you're interested.

[NiceAft]

I have been very satisfied with the high gloss of the paint. I now use Turtle Wax and have no need to work any harder than that. I have been using Turtle Wax on the white hull for almost fourteen years now. On and off, Pfff, done.

Ray

[Herschel]

Does it look good when wet with water? If so, have you considered using New Glass? I did that on mine when I first bought it and the difference was night and day and I was done in about 20 minutes. It held up for about a year and a half and I need to do it again. I can show a before and after if you're interested.

You can put me down for another guy that uses the NewglassII. Been doing that the last four years. Works well, but have to keep it up every year. Notice my boat is at the 20 year mark. Sits at a slip in a Central Florida marina most all the time.

[Hardcrab]

NiceAft,
How did you apply the paint?
Roll and Tip, Brush, Spray?
Did you primer it first?
I'm so over any kind of waxing just to keep a shine.

I've read about the magic Newglass stuff.
It seems to me to still stop somewhat short of the very best solution-- paint or perhaps the vinyl wrap solution.

Meeting tomorrow with the vinyl guy to go over things-----

Anybody know any stories about the vinyl?

[NiceAft]

I taped off the areas I would paint, and applied paint with a brush. The paint is not a thick, dense paint, so it is applied in two coats.

When it comes to NewglasII, I understand that it is an extremely good product. The reason I use the liquid Turtle Wax, is that it works, it’s incredibly easy, and it works.

There is a good reason to not keep the raccoon stripes shiny, at least the part ( ) or parts ( ) on the deck area going from the mast towards the bow. Why would we want it to be slippery loose tools go kerplunk. People go kerplunk. It’s our ego’s concerning one of the most beautiful boats around that keep us making those black stripes shiny, shiny, shiny.

Ray

P.S. Even though there are groove’s for safety etched into the black area on the deck, I have walked on the non etched areas from time to time (slippery). I’m sure others have also. Would vinyl eventually begin to peel from the friction of people walking on it?

[Seapup]

I used black krylon fusion for my boot stripe the first time I painted the bottom. It worked well down low mostly out of the sun and where it could be touched up with each bottom job.

The next year I taped off the upper hull stripe and upper deck area and did the same, was pretty cheap, quick and easy. It looked good for a season then started to UV fade. After 2-3 seasons looked about the same as gelcoat. Trouble came in when trying to then wax the black would smear onto the white.

If i were to do it again I would paint again, but find use something with better UV track record.

The vinyl wraps look interesting, but I would probably only use it on the hull sides and be paranoid about tearing it.

Along those lines the plastidip type peelable coatings are interesting too. My wife's museum used it to paint their main gallery hardwood floors black for an exibit and peeled it back up 6 months later. I never thought it would have worked, but it did.

[sailboatmike]

One of the guys at the club has his go fast race boat vinyl wrapped in a carbon look alike.

Now that would be awesome on a Mac

[1st Sail]

New Glass has worked very well for me. Once you prep and polish for the first application (usually 5-6 coats) semi annual or annual maintenance is minimal. For repeat applications I just wash and buff with 3M 0000 compound (very fine), wash, dry, apply, done for months to a year.

[NiceAft]

I am skeptical about applying vinyl laminent to any area which is subject to abrasion. If it fades, just like every other product out there, why not go for what makes a good, shiny surface, and is easy, and is cheap?

The reason I painted several years ago, was out of frustration in having to make the stripes shiny every year. The Sun beats everything Some products may dull slightly less than others, but the Sun wins every time. The paint worked, but after two years I was back to shining it again.

New Glass has worked very well for me. Once you prep and polish for the first application (usually 5-6 coats) semi annual or annual maintenance is minimal. For repeat applications I just wash and buff with 3M 0000 compound (very fine), wash, dry, apply, done for months to a year.

This is what I have been saying about the Turtle Wax. “wash and buff with 3M 0000 compound (very fine), wash, dry, apply, done for months to a year”. If it was cheaper than Liquid Turtle Wax, I would use any product that I don’t have to do any time consuming prep time; that was quick, easy on, easy off, and effective. I don’t own stock in the company

If I may quote the eminent Highlander; “Just say’n, that’s all.”

Ray

[Herschel]

At the risk of "beating a dead horse" here, based on taylormade, 1stsail, niceaft, and myself, it seems like there are two ways to go before you resort to paint and other techniques to care for our gelcoat issues, whether black, while or blue. That is either a good wax such as Turtle or the NewglassII polymer approach. The "trick" is to catch the problem soon enough to have the gelcoat to restore. My '98 is still doing well, but I started dealing with chalky gelcoat about 5-6 years ago and acted on it.

[Orkia]

Anyone attempted to regel coat any portion? I have been considering to regel coat starting with the the hatch.

[Herschel]

Anyone attempted to regel coat any portion? I have been considering to regel coat starting with the the hatch.

I don't know anything about that, but I have found the customer support folks at the West System very knowledgeable and helpful regarding anything that involves epoxy repairs. If it is doable, I am confident that they would have a product and directions on its use.

[Hardcrab]

UPDATE:
Vinyl wrap was a no-go. A quote of $600 for materials sucked the wind from these sails.
Back to painting the blacks, or so I thought---

As it turns out, I was extremely far "behind the times" when it comes to the CORRECT tools to use for prepping/waxing gel coat.
For years, I took the cheap route and used the Walmart style two-handed polisher with terry cloth, micro-fiber, or wool stretch "bonnets".
Various liquid/paste products for the various stages needed.
Oh, and the many bottles of Aleve.

A friend listened to the technique I had been using and suggested entering the 21st century and make the serious change to a Double Action Buffer/Polisher.
The kind that casually looks like an angle grinder, not the double handed junk I was using.
The tools increased speed and, more importantly, the better selection of discreet foam pads to use for each step make the blacks and the entire boat easier to complete.

For doing my boat, he suggested the Harbor Freight version, normally $69, but wait for a $49 coupon to show up.
Apparently, this tool has a pretty good reputation among the car detailers out there as a pretty decent value compared to the $125+ competition.
Even the 6" foam pads they sell are decent enough for a boat---$6.99 normal, but wait for the $3.99 coupon.
Orange pads and slower tool speeds for the first pass with Barkeepers Friend/water to get the oxidation and dirt off.
Orange pads again with slightly more tool speed with the "moderate" rubbing compound of your choice to bring up some shine.
Then, Blue pads and more speed with the mild "polish" of your choice to really get the blacks humming.
Ending with more speed again with the black pads and the wax of your choice.
Incredible, easy results.
Never these results with the old buffer tool/same products.
Never.

This tool is variable speed from 1 to 6 on the dial.
I used it from about 2.5 to 4.5 for the above steps.
Never is any pressure applied to the tool-- just it's own weight.
Pea-sized drops of the liquid, at the four cardinal points of the pad, 2' x 2' section at the largest, up/down passes then side/side passes, wipe down rag after a section.

I did each section twice at each step/product/foam pad---- only because I had let the boat fall so far downhill.
I vow to stay on top of the job and just use the blue pad/polish followed by the black pads/wax into the future.

The difference in the physical effort required and the final result is so stupidly obvious when compared to my old method.