painting your boat?

[Tanner]

I'm curious if anyone here has ever tried painting their boat w/ any success. I have a friend who's an airbrusher and does quite a few show trucks/cars, and we've discussed maybe doing some a little bit of painting and airbrushing on my 24v. I'm just not so sure how the paint would hold up in the water. I pull my boat out of the water daily, but still... I'm not sure how the parts below the water would hold up. Also I'm curious as to what this would do to my warranty. Any experience guys?

[talltigeguy]

I had my numbers painted on. The first time I went over them with a wax/rubbing compound I was discouraged to see some of the paint smearing all over. I wish I had just done boring vinyl letters like everyone else. Perhaps you could test the durability with something like the numbers first and then do it if it pleases you.

[zeda]

I would assume that painting your boat may have a negative impact on resale value.

[Andrew]

The best stuff to paint a boat with is Imron and Dupont supplies that. Please check with your supplier for the best prep method. This stuff can be used under the water line. This paint is expensive and tuff. Hope this helps.

I would talk to a sign company and see what type af vinyl graphics they have. This is always another option.

Andrew

[Bog]

i would think if there was any good paint for boating applications then manufacturers would use it in some of their graphics. Obviously they dont so I wouldnt do it myself

[zeda]

Hey Bog....

What's shaken? Are you going to the boat show? Still need to get together and slam some beers.

[Tanner]

Originally posted by Bog
i would think if there was any good paint for boating applications then manufacturers would use it in some of their graphics. Obviously they dont so I wouldnt do it myself

Well generally I think the reason they use vinyl graphics is b/c it's easier (and cheaper) to reproduce the same graphic w/ a printer vs. having an airbrusher do it. W/ some airbrushing you can easily tie up $20K in the paint work alone and even still you wouldn't probably have it reproduced exactly. That being said if your graphics are laid in the gelcoat, you should have no problems w/ fading or peeling. But if you go that route u can't ever remove them. If you go tige's route u can always remove them and replace the graphics if your not happy w/ the factory choices.

I'm not to worried about the work that would be done and his prepping, b/c this is what my friend does for a living and he's had quite a few cars and trucks that he's done that have been featured in a magazine. Like I said before... I'm just worried about it holding up and the warranty issue.

Andrew, any word as to my warranty?

[Andrew]

Having numbers or something painted on the boat would not void your warranty. However if you customize the paint on the boat and say something happened that was under warranty where your custom paint was we would fix the boat back to the orginal condition as it left the factory. We would not cover the custom painting. Hope this answers your question. If you want to discuss more please give me a call 325-676-7777.

Andrew

[G-MONEY]

I got my numbers custom painted for the first time on my new Tige and I came out better than I expected. I will post a pic as soon as I can. So far I have not had any problems with the paint chipping/smearing off I will keep everyone posted if I have a problem.