Shrink Wrap

[maxpow]

Sorry to start this already but as the summer starts to draw to a close I am thinking of shrink wrapping the boat this year. It looks fairly straight forward with the perimeter band and belly bands and some vents. My question is will a hand held electric heat gun work? Im sure it would take a lot longer but $40 versus $600 seems better to me for the gun? If anypne has done this please weigh in and let me know your thoughts?

[da_kernel]

i did it on my r20 with an 120v electric gun last year. yes it works, yes its slow. it took me about 5hrs of “hair drying” in 40deg F weather






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[freeheel4life]

Sorry to start this already but as the summer starts to draw to a close I am thinking of shrink wrapping the boat this year. It looks fairly straight forward with the perimeter band and belly bands and some vents. My question is will a hand held electric heat gun work? Im sure it would take a lot longer but $40 versus $600 seems better to me for the gun? If anypne has done this please weigh in and let me know your thoughts?

I shrinkwrap a lot here and do it as a side business. I wouldnt try it with an electric heat gun. Not enough BTUs across a large enough area. About the only thing I would consider is a weed burner on a propane tank, but even then, the flame is going to be heating directly in one spot. Heating too much in one spot can cause the shrink to met, drip, and even catch on fire. The gun has a built in turbine and special tip that spreads the flame flat and even to provide even heat across a large area. IIRC the tip is up around 100k BTUs as well to give you an idea on the amount of heat needed.

Also you are missing a handful of other things in your list if you want to shrinkwrap. Desiccant being right at the top of the list. Also, P tape for seams. Pre wrap for banding lines. Theres a bunch of other things that are fairly critical as well process wise or you end up with a moldy boat when you unwrap it.

Or if you have 4 hours to burn you could go the electric route.

[sandm]

I only paid $250 to have my tige wrapped last year to travel from wisconsin to utah. iirc in 2013 it was only $300 from Freeheel's business to wrap it to get to wisconsin from idaho. don't remember what that cover was made of but I kept that one for 4 years and used it as a winter storage cover as it was a different type of wrap that had felt on the underside.

[freeheel4life]

I only paid $250 to have my tige wrapped last year to travel from wisconsin to utah. iirc in 2013 it was only $300 from Freeheel's business to wrap it to get to wisconsin from idaho. don't remember what that cover was made of but I kept that one for 4 years and used it as a winter storage cover as it was a different type of wrap that had felt on the underside.

Transhield is the one with the felt. We are still about the same price to shrink. We seem to up a bit /ft every year.

[sandm]

transhield is the way to go. if you remove carefully, you now have a winter cover that fits somewhat snugly to keep the dust/debris off the boat thru the season if stored indoors.

[maxpow]

I only paid $250 to have my tige wrapped last year to travel from wisconsin to utah. iirc in 2013 it was only $300 from Freeheel's business to wrap it to get to wisconsin from idaho. don't remember what that cover was made of but I kept that one for 4 years and used it as a winter storage cover as it was a different type of wrap that had felt on the underside.

If it was $250 to have it done here id pay that but last time I looked into it it was just over $500 for my 22v.

[freeheel4life]

If it was $250 to have it done here id pay that but last time I looked into it it was just over $500 for my 22v.

Dang. I wouldnt pay that much for a 22' boat either. These sailboats are much larger than your 22v and got them in at around the same price you were quoted to shrink your boat. Either I'm undercharging or your local shrink shop is making a killing.

If you want to do it at home I'd be trying it with a weed burner instead of electric heat gun personally.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-...FQoXrQYdB58OBQ

^^one of these hooked up to a regular old bbq propane cylinder. May be worth wrapping something small like a cardboard box first to figure out how much heat and speed you need.
If you go for it be sure to get some desiccant. Make sure the boat is really dry before shrinking or it will mold. No wet gear inside either or it molds. I know that sound like a no brainer but you'd be surprised how many guys go out for their last day and want their soaking wet 3 person tube and life vests shrink into the boat because they dont qant to see them in the garage.

Good luck

[maxpow]

Dang. I wouldnt pay that much for a 22' boat either. These sailboats are much larger than your 22v and got them in at around the same price you were quoted to shrink your boat. Either I'm undercharging or your local shrink shop is making a killing.

If you want to do it at home I'd be trying it with a weed burner instead of electric heat gun personally.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-...FQoXrQYdB58OBQ

^^one of these hooked up to a regular old bbq propane cylinder. May be worth wrapping something small like a cardboard box first to figure out how much heat and speed you need.
If you go for it be sure to get some desiccant. Make sure the boat is really dry before shrinking or it will mold. No wet gear inside either or it molds. I know that sound like a no brainer but you'd be surprised how many guys go out for their last day and want their soaking wet 3 person tube and life vests shrink into the boat because they dont qant to see them in the garage.

Good luck

with that weed burner do you think you could squish the end of it so it would fan the flame out wide like the gun?

[freeheel4life]

with that weed burner do you think you could squish the end of it so it would fan the flame out wide like the gun?

Maybe. Im no expert but I think part of the tips design on the weed burner is the holes on the backside drafting air to "shoot" out flame. Choking down the tip may restrict that air flow. If you got the weed burner going so that it had a good steady "jet" sounding flame but not full blast and then just made sure to keep it moving(dont linger in one spot on the shrink with the heat) you could probably do it no problem.

[KoolAid]

Maybe. Im no expert but I think part of the tips design on the weed burner is the holes on the backside drafting air to "shoot" out flame. Choking down the tip may restrict that air flow. If you got the weed burner going so that it had a good steady "jet" sounding flame but not full blast and then just made sure to keep it moving(dont linger in one spot on the shrink with the heat) you could probably do it no problem.

Just buy the real gun and go into the shrink wrap bidness :-)

[freeheel4life]

Just buy the real gun and go into the shrink wrap bidness :-)

That's what I did. Have a non compete on boats though. Lots of other stuff needs protected for shipping though. That was supposedly a half million dollar nitrogen filtering rig. Have also shrink wrapped planes, V16 quad turbo locomotive engines, bronze art statues, you get the point. It's not worth quitting your day job over but I just use it as my fun $.

[jeremiah.hough]

Does anyone know of a place in Missouri that does this? If not I would think lake of the ozarks would be a killer market.

[freeheel4life]

Does anyone know of a place in Missouri that does this? If not I would think lake of the ozarks would be a killer market.

Theres a guy in NE that kills it. I think theres a guy in Missouri as well. Just Google mobile shrink wrap Missouri and you will find out.

[gokustp]

Im no expert but I think part of the tips design on the weed burner is the holes on the backside drafting guideadda air to shoot out flame.