Archives for July 2014

Can I Buy Vinyl Boat Lettering or Decal and Apply it Myself?

July 22, 2014 by

So you’re a DIY sort of person. That’s respectable, and it would be a sad world if no one wanted to do anything themselves. There are a few tricks to applying vinyl letters and boat decals, and you might watch a You-Tube video to see more about it. I will tell you this: Vinyl can be quite unforgiving, especially when applied in the heat of the Florida sun. When the vinyl is too warm, it gets quite soft and stretchy, and this makes application even more of a challenge.

DIY Boat Lettering
Prepping the boat lettering area is key. You want to remove any dirt, wax or oxidation. Use a cleaner that has no oil in it, as any film left will cause the vinyl to lift. In most surface cleaning situations where alcohol is OK we use a 70% ISO alcohol cleaning solution.
The boat letters will have application tape over them; tape this against the area you wish to letter. When you have it in the proper position, put a piece of masking tape perpendicular and centered on the lettering. Lift one end of the lettering up, and peel back the application tape from the paper. The letters will now be on the application tape, with the sticky side exposed. Using a razor or scissors, cut the paper off close to that centered strip of masking tape. Using a hard squeegee (or a credit card will do), burnish the letters starting at the closest point to the masking tape and working your way outwards in an aggressive up and down motion. Now remove the masking tape, and peel the paper away from the remaining part of the letters. Again, burnish the letters with your squeegee in the same manner. Now you will have the letters as well as the application stuck to your boat. At a 45 degree angle, slowly and carefully peel back the application tape. Sometimes it will want to bring the vinyl letters up with it, but don’t let that happen.

Voila! You now qualify for a position in a sign shop!

Best of luck with this.

If you begin your boat lettering or boat decal project and feel as though you may need help please feel free to call us and get a FREE ESTIMATE for all your boat lettering needs.
Custom Boat Lettering Help Phone 772-281-4964

Filed Under: Boat Lettering Service Help Tagged With: , ,

Changing the Name of Your Boat

July 17, 2014 by

Many people like to change the name of their boats when they first acquire them. It may come as a surprise to learn that there are a lot of age-old superstitions surrounding this. Fisherman may be the first to have come up with some of these, as their catch is often precluded by how they pleased their gods. They would not launch a boat on a Friday, as it was considered bad luck. This still holds with many serious boaters and fisherman today. Another one is not to name your boat after your wife. Your mother, your daughter, your grrandmother would be fine, but wives, it is said, come and go. The same could be said for husbands, of course, although boats tend to generally be thought of as female. Now and then, however, I have lettered boats with men’s names. Hopefully they were named after a father, son or grandfather.

Another superstition about changing the name of your boat I’ve heard is that if you do change the name of your boat, it is best to do it when the boat is not in the water. This is easy enough, as most of the time a new boat will be hauled out and inspected before the purchase. This is often the perfect time to letter the boat, when accessibility is easy and the boat is up in the air.
boat name change
Of course, you may choose to avoid these superstitions altogether and name your boat the same as your wife, launch it on a Friday and have the lettering done when it’s in the water.

These boat name change superstitions go way back to a time when getting around this world was done by way of the sea. The sea is a powerful and often finnicky mistress. There are voyages that go without incident, and others that are ridden with trouble. There are still cultures that pander to superstition, and individuals within every society may be found that step lightly where these issues arise. Mother Nature has no rhyme or reason to her; we are all victims of her antics now and again. Personally, I find no harm in adhering to some of the rules. We are not talking about pagan rituals, with sacrifices and candlelight seances at midnight. I see no problem with launching on a Saturday instead of a Friday, and naming a boat after a favorite pet, and changing the name of the boat while it’s up in the air. Why stir up trouble?

We look forward to hearing from you,
Call us today and get a FREE ESTIMATE for all your custom boat name changing needs.
Custom Boat Lettering Help Phone 772-281-4964

Filed Under: Boat Lettering Service Help Tagged With: ,

Gold Leaf or Gold Paint for Boat Lettering?

July 9, 2014 by

Gold leaf is an age-old process, involving the thinnest sheets of gold that are pressed against something we call ‘size’. It will not oxidize, and is not affected by UV rays.

Gold Leaf Boat Lettering

Gold Leaf Boat Lettering

Gold’s Protective Qualities
This is why you’ll see it on domes of buildings, on statues, and on signs that are a hundred or more years old. Any clear coating will dull the natural glow of it, and the clear coating itself.will fail eventually due to UV rays and weather.

Real Gold Leaf For Boat Lettering
Using real gold leaf on a boat is an expensive and arduous process, although it is still done now and then. In the past few years there have been great new developments in the realm of gold leaf vinyl. You will hardly be able to tell the difference between the real thing and the vinyl, plus some of these products offer as much as a fifteen year warranty. The vinyl is still expensive, as compared to regular high performance vinyl, but the upgrade is definitely worth it. Paired up with a black outline (or dark blue or some other deep rich color), your gold leaf vinyl lettering literally jumps out of the background.

Gold Paint Boat Lettering

Gold Paint Boat Lettering

Gold Vinyl & Gold Paint Boat Lettering
Whether you choose to use gold vinyl or true gold leaf, be sure to have it professionally installed. With the gold leaf, timing is everything, and if it is not adhered at just the right moment to the gold size, eventually the gold will come off. If you choose to use gold vinyl, be sure it is the best quality. Beware of cheap imitations. It is costly and there is a reason for that: it will last for many years if you have high performance vinyl installed. The untrained eye cannot tell the difference, but as the years go by the lesser grade vinyls will fail. Find a sign person that has been in the business for many years, as they will know about old school ways as well as the latest materials. Even if you don’t buy from us, feel free to contact us and we’ll give our best advice on whatever your boat lettering needs are.

We look forward to hearing from you,
Call us today and get a FREE ESTIMATE for all your gold leaf lettering needs.
Gold Leaf Boat Lettering Help Phone 772-281-4964

Filed Under: Boat Lettering Service Help