Has anyone placed any decals on your kayak? I would like to put something (?) on our kayaks such as a design or lettering just for kicks. Any suggestions and to what and where to buy?
decals
I have gone to the Auto accessory stores and bought decals for My Poly Kayaks They work just fine…you can get just about anything from Skulls…to Flames…Have fun with it…Also I custom Paint some designs as well…A model airplane Enamel is Good but it will scratch.so touch ups are nessessary…ken
Archives … on lettering
http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=270238
~wetzool
Kinko’s or similar chain sign shop
You can create any size and font style with their computer and they can then have it printed onto a clear vinyl decal. If you have a logo, photo or drawing that you want to use, they should also be able to scan that in and then have that transferred and printed onto a clear decal material. I did this for a home built kayak (the name is a hybrid of my parent’s names) for the badging of the boat and then cut out a stencil and dabbed black enamel paint through the stencil to put the Innukshuck designs on the bow and stern of the boat. Neither were expensive to do and with todays technology you can have a lot of fun with this one.
http://community.webshots.com/album/172013009rnQUrH
Here
http://cgi.ebay.com/Kayak-Decal-Stickers-Yakima-Perception-Nigel-Dennis_W0QQitemZ7216330552QQcategoryZ87089QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Thanks to tsunamichuck.
Try an automotive decal shop
One of those places that do lettering and advertizing on commercial vehicles. They can scan and print your own design and the decals are very durable.
The one I went to had a book with several thousand simple graphics to choose from.
Just give the guy the number,dimensions and colour you want and he can print you off a right and left. Not too expensive either.
Bert
decalzone.com
The best place I found was http://www.decalzone.com they have a huge variety of sizes and colors for each of the hundreds of designs plus many lettering choices. The cost is not too bad either, I bought two decals of about 6 inches each and paid about $15.00 with S&H.
The best part is that these are made for nautical use as well, so they are supposed to hold well under very wet circumstances.
I placed a pair or their decals in the bow of my Impex Assateague about three months ago and I’ve been paddling a lot on salt water, they look brand new and seem to be holding perfectly so far.
decal zone is good
Here’s another: Speedy Signs
http://www.speedysigns.com/decals/readymade_graphics.asp
You Should See Chuck’s Truck
He also scored me a “surf kayaking is not a crime” bumper sticker
Decals
I put a wood duck decal on the stern of my Mystic–I’m a big wood duck fan. I’ve been looking for a Great Blue Heron decal for the Montauk with no luck–so I was interested in the Kinko’s idea above–may go that route, I’m sure I can find something suitable to use (even one of my own pictures). Saber-Tooth has some nice wildlife ones (http://e-sabertooth.com).
Peggy
http://paddletales.blogspot.com
computer printer
At the Newfound Wooden Boat Rendezvous a few years back I met a gentleman who scanned a bird picture into his computer then printed it on a very light paper. I believe it was a sheet of white craft tissue paper. He then carefully layed it into the wet varnish on his boat then applied another layer of varnish over it. All but the image disappeared against the hull. To do this on a glass boat you might have a problem as varnish over a gel coat most likely won’t look good.
Besides my USMC stickers…
…got one that says, “Par Mare, Par Terram,”
and another that says, “Ventre e terre,”
I have a buddy who makes some killer stickers.
Does a great job with them.
Shoot me some email and I’ll get you in touch with him.