Hi there, I’m new to the forum but I have gotten quite a lot of use out of the paddling.net reviews in the last few days and would like to start out by thanking you all.
Anyway, I ended up buying an Old Town Vapor 12xt as my first kayak, there’s a nice wide shallow river with a bunch of islands for camping that’s right out my front door and I assume it will be a nice stable starter yak. I hope to graduate to a higher quality touring kayak at some point but I figured it would be better to start off slow.
Anyway, I have a particular quirk, I hate huge obtrusive logos, I have no problem with small tasteful makers marks since I believe the creator should get their due but I don’t even wear tshirts with big logos on them because it makes me feel like a billboard.
So my question is, does anyone have any suggestions for removing the printed logos off the side of my new kayak? There are several foot long white graphics all over my nice green boat.
I know that since this is a cheap olive drab boat I could probably just find some krylon fusion and try to paint over it but I’d rather remove them entirely and the only thing I can think of is to use varying grits of sandpaper. I have no idea if there are any chemical solutions that would remove the paint without melting my new toy.
Thanks.
The “paint” is an integral part of the
hull surface, so if you sand it off, you will have to remove hull surface, leaving a rough patch.
I bought a Perception WW kayak that had the asinine label “Proline” on the hull. I lightly sanded the area and used Krylon spray paint to paint on decorative flashes. The trick to their staying on is to use several light, dusty coats, not one or two heavy ones. That way, the paint doesn’t have the tendency to peel when scratched.
Krylon Fusion may work even better than the old Krylon. You just have to think up some decorative shapes, mask the area to be painted, lightly sand and clean the area, and spray.
good luck
Glad you got a boat. That is a great starter boat. Soon you might be in search of a faster boat, so I wouldn’t sweat it. Paddle it for a bit, then get a composite boat with less logoing. Then you can take a friend and they will be the chump in the logo boat.
Ryan L.
Always consider resale
Many people move on to other kayaks, no matter how much they may love them initially. Depending on the nature of your changes, you might limit the resale somewhat.
Why bother
OK, first who’s got the time to screw around with this, kind of stuff? Just go paddling and worry less about the logos.
Secondly, if you ever want to upgrade and want to sell your now defaced boat, good luck? Maybe you can make it a planter in your front yard?
“defaced”…really?
I think you are taking this a little too seriously. This is a cheap starter boat as far as I’m concerned I don’t really care all that much about resale value. I realize that if I stick with the hobby I’ll move on to nicer kayaks and that nicer kayaks don’t tend to have tacky logos all over them. If you don’t care about asthetics that’s fine, but obviously I do, or at least enough to spend a half hour messing around in the garage to fix it. It’s called attention to detail. And obviously personal taste comes into the equation for most people or every kayak would come in nothing but day glo orange or something. Lighten up francis.
Anyway, I think I’ve figured out a way to fix it that would be fun. I’m going to hit the spots with olive drab and a little tiny bit of black spatter to replicate the rest of the hull and then stencil on a khakhi star and numbers like an old school Jeep, I just got out of the Army not that long ago and my friends at least will probably get a kick out of it. On top of that, the type of individual who wouldbe looking to buy a used olive drab anglers kayak in the first place would probably find it mildly amusing if the time comes for me to sell it. Thanks.
selling is for chumps
it is awesome having a bunch of boats around. I wouldnt consider selling anything till i had about six laying around. Do what ever you want to it. i would caution that getting paint to stick is hard especially without sanding first.
Ryan L.
Still got the Proline? I’m looking for
one. Interested in selling yours? Dennis
“Proline” could apply to any ww
Perception kayak in the early 90s. It meant that the foam walls in the bow and stern had plastic stiffeners, and that there were reinforced cable loops on the front and rear deck for locking or for extracting a pinned boat.
My particular kayak is a Corsica. A good kayak for big people at that time. Now, you should be able to get something better for 400 or less.
Me Too
kayaks tend to have good resale value. Most first time buyers don’t care about age they just want something that floats. Someday soon he will want to sell that kayak. Same goes for paddles. Used to paint my name and phone number on them but now use vinyl cut outs so they can be removed when I’m ready to sell them.
Ah too, wanted ta tone down me canoo’s
factory paint job, so here be de latest result o' dat...
Reckon' anybody will notice it?
http://tinyurl.com/3c9nydy
FE
just have fun
Have fun with your boat. Do whatever makes you want to go out and paddle it.
good suggestion
vinyl cutouts might be a better solution, I’ll keep that in mind.