Got my first kayak and I’m thinking that I want to customize it somehow, but I don’t care for any of the kayak-specific decals I’ve found. Has anyone tried using wall vinyls on their kayak? They’re supposed to be easy to remove from walls so I worry that the adhesive won’t be good enough… Plus they’re designed for indoor use and the water might mess with them? Is all vinyl created equal?
If not, where do you guys go to get image decals done? I’ve found a ton of places doing boat names and all that but not so much for pictures.
Vinyl transfers will stick to a boat pretty well and will not “run”. I have a number of them on various canoes. But they will get scratched up and off. That is why the graphics on kayaks are often molded in and those on canoes are usually decals. The decals on canoes are in a somewhat more protected position.
I have customized several kayaks with decorative vinyl stickers designed for autos from Hippy Motors USA and custom lettering from Rapid Vinyl (they sell on Ebay). Very happy with the products from both companies in terms of price, ease of application and durability. Hippy Motors has some fun stuff including “steampunk” and traditional Maori designs and they are a small US based family business that cuts them to order in your choice of colors. Rapid Vinyl’s order process allows you to format your text exactly as you want it with over a hundred scalable fonts.
The stickers adhere very well to rotomold boats (see photos of boats that have had the stickers on them for several years: Sanskrit “om”, peace dove, boat names). I have even reimforced the text banners to the fabric skins of my folding kayaks by covering the lettering with strips of clear nylon adhesive repair patch material (bought at REI). Some people scoff at decorating a boat in such a way, but, as I learned in my years of relying on a bicycle for transport, thieves are less inclined to take a customized item both because it is too easily identified and because the resale value is less when they try to “fence” it.
By the way, the vinyl stickers can be removed by heating with a hot hair dryer if you want to change designs or sell the boat.
We also endorse Hippymotors decals. I’ve had their sea turtles on my QCC for years, Deb has some of their decals on her poly boat for about a year. Holding up very well so far.
@tjalmy said:
We also endorse Hippymotors decals. I’ve had their sea turtles on my QCC for years, Deb has some of their decals on her poly boat for about a year. Holding up very well so far.
I tried to order a decal and the shipping was more that the decal… something wrong with that picture…
Be careful…
Ask anywhere you see custom vinyl lettering applied: car dealerships, retail store windows, commercial vehicles. See where they got their graphics done. There have to be hundreds of places with CNC vinyl cutters, and there have to innumerable clip art images on and/or offline that you could choose from. There might be different levels of adhesion for different purposes, so ask and educate yourself before committing.
I tried to order a decal and the shipping was more that the decal… something wrong with that picture…
Be careful…
There is nothing “wrong with that picture.” I’ve ordered multiple times from Hippy Motors. There is a minimum handling and shipping charge, which is true with most small businesses. It typically costs them the same to mail one sticker as it does to ship two dozen. Perhaps you have been spoiled by monolithic vendors like Amazon and their “free shipping”. Small manufacturers don’t have that kind of volume and shipping discount arrangements. I ordered $65 worth of their stickers and the postage was about $10.
The name on my boat is about 3" tall and 11 characters. It cost me about $CAD 10 from a local shop for both sides of the bow, and this is in a rural area. No reason not to buy local for this.
What irked me is that there was no notice of what shiping would be until the very last buy screen after a buy decision was made. I remember when items on Ebay were sold at or below cost and the profit came in the form of shipping charges.
I guess $6.75 shipping on a $6.50 decal just didn’t set right.
I’ve used vinyl stickers on my composite canoes with long lasting results. Decal Junky has been a good company to deal with. They have off the shelf designs or will do a custom sticker from a PDF of a drawing or clip art.
I had to order two plastic retainer clips for my dishwasher base panel (the originals were accidentally discarded.) The parts were $3 and shipping and handling was $12.95. Nature of the beast with mail order. But perfectly justifiable – a warehouse employee had to go print out the order, go fetch the part, package and process it.
Anyone who thinks they are NOT paying for shipping and handling (in increased prices from the vendors that offer “free shipping”) is delusional.
@willowleaf said:
Anyone who thinks they are NOT paying for shipping and handling (in increased prices from the vendors that offer “free shipping”) is delusional.
Boy, it would be great if the opposite held true when I walk into my local “mom and pop” hardware store. Unfortunately, prices are usually higher, not cheaper at all. But that’s an entire debate in itself. I’m aware of the pros and cons of BOTH sides.
Actually, the family-run (and Ace Hardware associated) local hardware store down the road from me was generally CHEAPER than the big box stores (Home Depot and Lowes) for the hardware and building materials that I often buy. For instance, bags of concrete mix and mortar were $1 to $2 less AND they would load them in my car for me. I could always get somebody to help me find what odd part or product I needed and they offered services like repairing window screens and pipe threading for very reasonable prices, while I waited. I hate bing stuck having to go to Big Blue and Big Orange now and wasting half an hour finding a widget I could have had in 2 minutes at the good old hardware store.
I am using the past tense because last winter the store, which had been in business for 2 generations, disappeared. Somebody bought the strip mall they were in and found a tenant (one of those damned “drop in clinics” that proliferate all over the burbs) that would pay more for the space and would not renew the lease for the hardware guys.
Well, you were lucky. Around here it’s more like “half the selection, twice the price”. And many of the employees are just as bad or worse than those at the big box stores for finding things and giving assistance/advice.
Maybe it’s because I live in an area that relies on tourism, but I’ve found our small businesses are always helpful. We’re lucky to have two hardware stores which have great staff. They don’t just point out where you can find what you need. They walk you to it and sometimes point out alternatives.
Today I was looking for those LED battery-operated lights which look like a light switch and can be mounted anywhere. No longer sold by Home Depot or Lowes. Called the closest hardware store and asked. Yes, they had three left and would hold them at register three in a bag with my name on it. Drove over after work. They were there and best of all, on sale.
He, he, he. Our County Library has a vinyl printer - you can print virtually anything in a variety of colors on vinyl. They are creative and helpful and only charge for the vinyl. Our library also loans out a go pro, laptops, hot spots, dvds, and even books!
Check out your library - you may be surprised.
