# Raft decals



## restrac2000

http://raftfix.com

Sponsor here and one of the folks (owner?) adds a lot of valuable insight and ideas to this forum. 

Phillip


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## slickhorn

fun weekend project to do yourself. 

On hypalon boats, I've used the thinnest material I can find, an exacto knife, and a careful glue job for some very detailed custom logos that have lasted 20 years. 

On my urethane boats, I do like sotar. mask with electricians tape, no sharp corners, and paint with liquid lex, after reactivating surface with thf.


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## seantana

I've asked this before, but does anyone have any experience using sign vinyl for raft decals? I make decals with outdoor vinyl in my shop, and they stick great on a variety of materials, but I haven't tried sticking them to hypalon. I know the "bombproof" way is to use patch material and glue, but sign vinyl is cheap and easy to replace. I just don't know if there are any worries about the adhesive not working, or damaging the rubber (doubtful).


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## zercon

*Sign Vinyl*

I've tried several different types on my hypalon boat and they stick at first but soon they fail as the vinyl stretches and pulls away. Sign vinyl works well as a mask for paint but that is it.


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## seantana

zercon said:


> I've tried several different types on my hypalon boat and they stick at first but soon they fail as the vinyl stretches and pulls away. Sign vinyl works well as a mask for paint but that is it.


That's what my gut was telling me, and I'm glad someone had the answer. It does beg the question - what kind of paint works best? I've read that gacoflex is pretty awesome, but it seems like a little bit overkill for most applications.


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## zbaird

Thanks restrac2000.

Raftfix provides custom logos to the private market as well as the commercial one. Check out some of the work I've done at raftfix.com. Click on gallery.


Gacoflex is good paint but it pales in comparison for sharpness, ability to hold original color/uv resistance and longevity, to urethane. Most commercial boats you see have urethane logos on them.

What it sounds like you are looking for and what I've been recommending, and some commercials have been going with, is their logos urethaned on a piece of matching/contrasting fabric, that they glue on. This makes it cheaper since I dont have to have the boat taking up space for so long and it also makes it easy to remove when they sell the boat. Since the urethane holds up so well they can get 2-3 boats out of one logo, if they are careful removing it, making it very cost effective.

Sign vinyl works fine for short term logos and is what a lot of fishing guides go with since they use their private boats and only need the logos to last short durations/ guide for several shops that require different logos. They are cheap enough to buy several at once and replace as needed. 

As slickhorn mentioned, and I'd have to agree, the ultimate in cool factor is to hand cut and carefully glue hypalon letters/ logos to your boat. Very few commercial or privates have opted for me to do this since it is very costly due to lots of time.

Some places go with silkscreen but the second it gets introduced to any solvent its gone so that isn't very popular


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## seantana

zbaird said:


> Thanks restrac2000.
> 
> As slickhorn mentioned, and I'd have to agree, the ultimate in cool factor is to hand cut and carefully glue hypalon letters/ logos to your boat. Very few commercial or privates have opted for me to do this since it is very costly due to lots of time.r


This has me thinking.. I own a laser shop, and can cut all kinds of fun stuff. Have you ever had anyone laser cut hypalon? I've never played with it so I can't even hazard a guess at how it reacts, but I'm kind of curious now if it will cut cleanly. I might have to dig out some patch material and give it a shot.


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## zbaird

Never have, but always thought that it would be badass. I would think you would want to stick it to something so that the edges dont roll up once they are cut and shift the material around during cutting.

Ive run it through my vinyl cutter with limited success. It wont cut through but scores it, cutting it out is still a chore. Clean cut logos out of hypalon or PVC would be sweet.


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## seantana

I cut on a vacuum table, which should mitigate most curling. I think I'm going to grab some this week and play a little, PVC is a no-go in the laser, though. It puts out chlorine gas when it burns, which eats optics.


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## zbaird

Interested to see how it goes. Let us know.


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## seantana

It doesn't smell exactly good, but the results are pretty awesome. That's a 6" patch for reference.


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## InflatableSteve

seantana said:


> It doesn't smell exactly good, but the results are pretty awesome. That's a 6" patch for reference.



That's awesome! Is that Heisenberg?


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## seantana

Sure is, just a random file to test cut. It cut super clean, so multicolor inlays are a definite possibility, the gears are already turning on bigger ideas.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Mountain Buzz mobile app


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## elkhaven

how about glue on river maps :lol:


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## sammyphsyco

Or black tiger stripes for the sides of my orange raft?


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## Mark Mills

You can also cut your own stencil from mylar drafting material or other thin plastic and apply paint through the stencil using a stencil brush or sponge. The trick is to keep the stencil from shifting to keep the edge clean whilst you apply the paint. I used Hyside paint made for hypalon. Check Utube for stenciling tips, and practice on another surface before you do it for keeps. We used the copier to enlarge a favorite petroglyph, cut the stencil and applied them to the trusty Avon. Let the stencil dry, reverse, and apply the opposite hand version to the other side of the craft. We've had these stencils on our raft for 10 years or so.

Have fun!


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## Randaddy

Zach, what would you charge for a say 6" x 4" bit of hypalon or pvc with a boat owner's name, address, and phone number on it in urethane? I buy and sell boats from time to time and this seems like a good way to stay legal without marking up the boats too much - and like you mention I could reuse it.


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## Fort

seantana how did the hypalon cut? I'm interested in hearing.


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## seantana

Fort said:


> seantana how did the hypalon cut? I'm interested in hearing.


Cuts like butter. Really, really stinky butter.


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## OregonRafter

I used www.raftfix.com for a couple of boat graphics. I had the graphics done on a peice of hypalon that I then glued on to the boat. I was very happy with the results and it was a reasonable cost. I glued it on without roughing up the boat fabric very much, and thinned out the glue with toluene. This worked fine because it wasn't an air holding patch. It removed easily and was barely noticable after I removed it a few years later to sell the boat. Getting the graphics done on a piece of glue on material was the way to go for me versus shipping the entire boat.


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## zbaird

Glad that worked out for you! Always good to get feedback years later on stuff that has continued to work. I don't hear back from people much which I guess is a good thing right.


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## seantana

My buddy had a scrim shot on his bow, asked me to make him a fish to cover it, I liked how it turned out on his light gray boat.


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## yesimapirate

Can we see more of that lady leg and less of that hair sweater?


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## ppine

Companies that cater to the large power boat and sail boat crowd have some excellent custom decals that can be ordered any way you want.


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## seantana

ppine said:


> Companies that cater to the large power boat and sail boat crowd have some excellent custom decals that can be ordered any way you want.


As discussed earlier in this thread, stick on decals don't last very well on rafts, the fish in my post is a hypalon patch that is fully glued to his boat.


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## walz

I love your fish seantana!


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## seantana

yesimapirate said:


> Can we see more of that lady leg and less of that hair sweater?


Here you go, weirdo.


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## yesimapirate

Well played.


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