Hi, I am VERY new to the kayaking world and my husband bought me an Old Town Otter. It’s light blue and I absolutely LOVE it. It’s small and easy to maneuver.
I want to paint big pink flowers on it. What’s the best way? I was thinking just on the top and sides… and then I would like to maybe find a pink paddle as well.
(No, this isn’t a joke… I just want to personalize my kayak while I am riding around the lake with it.)
Any suggestions? Does anyone have any pictures of painting their kayak? Also… I assume it’s made of plastic… is that right? Any and all help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you so much!
Great idea…
I’ve never painted anything on a kayak nor seen one that has been painted…but I think it’s a really cool idea. If you give it a try, please report back on your results and what you used.
Why not put decals on instead?
I don’t know if you still can get them, but you used to be able to get all sizes and many with flowers.
On my old Perception Eclipse which only gets used a few times a year now, I had a bunch of stickers from many of the unique places it was paddled such as Glacier Bay, the Everglades, etc plastered all over it, and I always got comments on them and questions ask about the various places.
Unfortunately we got caught in a horrendous hail storm once, with the boat on the roof and the combination of hail and high speed driving ripped a lot of the good ones off.
cheers,
JackL
Another decals suggestion
I’ve swapped e-mails with a woman who uses a CriCut scrapbook machine to cut vinyl stickers for her boat and gear. I’m planning on trying to use one for cutting some bits for my daughter’s kayak.
Don’t paint it - I have a friend who’s ex-boyfriend painted one of her kayaks. It’s peeling and crappy looking now.
stencils and krylon fusion?? NM
2nd the Krylon fusion
I used krylon fusion paint to put stylized fish on my kayak. I used masking tape over the intended area and then used a mat knife to cut away the design. It worked real well. The fusion paint chemically bonds to the plastic.
Pink Paddle Hard to Find
Trust me. See thread “Pink Paddle Anyone?” Great news is that Swift will custom make a paddle for you with your choice of fabric (e-mail Steve for particulars about fabric)Check out the swift paddle web site. They have some great choices as well.
I’ve found some WILD pink flowered fabric with bright greens and yellows in it as well, but am waiting to be sure fabric does not clash with color of boat. (I pick up boat Wednesday and am taking the fabric with me!)
Regarding the flowered boat:
You go girl! A whole new FLOWER POWER!
Suggest going with the decals. The paint will chip (we painted an old rotomolded boat) and if you change your mind later, to do someting else, the decals will be easier to remove and start anew.
deb
Sweet!
I totally OWN a Cricut! That’s perfect!!!
LOVE IT!
I am loving these ideas! I am going to check out the decal websites and then I am going to read up on the krylon plastic paint… I was thinking I could find some really cute stencils and just sort of go for it…
I will get pics for sure when I’m done. I LOVE my little kayak, but I think I can make it TOTALLY my own 
Found someone on Etsy
Okay, I have located someone on ETSY who will do the decals pretty much any way I want him to, and he’s reasonably priced!
Thanks for the help! I will post pics when I am finished!
i’m with you on this
i love gussying up my kayak …i’m going to do my paddles also…it will keep people from accidently picking them up. i’m the cricut owner that did her own graphics. you can see them on photobucket under northernlights64. can’t wait to see photos. now all the women in my kayak group want me to apply graphics on their yaks…oh my ! what have i started?
Top Coat
I highly recomend a top coat over decals. Like Jackl said about the decals ripping off. You can use a spray clear coat, but I don’t like the way it looks on a plastic boat, it gives the whole area an off looking shinny patch. I used clear nail polish over my graphics (sort of a tribal design under the boats name with lots of sharp points) and it just makes the little area around the graphic shiney, but it isn’t too noticable. I’ve been told about using rice paper with a graphic printed on it for composits, but I haven’t tried it, yet. (Waiting to save up for my ONNO!!!)
try stickers
Nothing looks worse than a bad paint job. Cars have stickers such as mach 1.