Vinyl Stripe....

[Swim]

Has anyone ever changed the color of their stripe with vinyl?

Here's the thing, I have a 99, it's maroon, I hate maroon.... However, I've considered "wrapping" the strip to make it charcoal gray with an upper and lower black "pinstripe" to make it not look "aftermarket"

Has anyone tried this? Did it hold up?

[swc5150]

I've never done it, but I used to own a sign and graphics company, so I thought I'd offer my thoughts. You could definitely change the color of the boat with vinyl. Be sure to use a high-performance grade, and possibly have a shop do the work, if you don't have experience installing vinyl graphics. Matching the existing stripe lines would be the biggest challenge, since no pattern exists for a cutter.

[Swim]

I happen to have a UScutter vinyl cutter that I have access to. I realize that it's not the greatest thing in the world, and I would consider just having a shop do it, but I am very tempted to make a template for the stripe. Tell me if this sounds right... Start at the bow measure to the center of the stern. Break down the stripe into sections say 2" wide. Measure the vertical width every 2 inches and then plot this into the software. That should give me a pretty decent template right? Mirror it for the other side?

What vinyl should I use?

[Swim]

Here's kinda what I was thinking... pardon the crude photoshop... also the tower is no longer there... so ignore that. It was the only picture I had that I could make work...
Either way, I want to make the stripe a different color and upgrade the graphics to a newer style.

[swc5150]

That sounds like a good plan for the template. Even if it isn't a perfect match, it's more important to cover the old stripe. I'd use an Oracal 951 series or similar. Rapid Tac is also a great application fluid, however, I make my own version using Lemon Dawn dishsoap and water - yes Lemon does make a difference for some reason.

[AirTool]

Mirror it for the other side?

I haven't read all this thread but don't mirror for the other side. These boats were made in hand made molds and the gel stripes are made with butcher paper by hand. So the sides won't be the same. (Probably not even on the new boats that have CNC molds. They gel transitions are still done by hand.)

[Swim]

That makes a lot of sense actually. I was wondering why there were imperfections in the stripe when I removed the pin-striping...

[swc5150]

QC has much improved in the gel work. Newer CC's don't use vinyl tape to cover seams, so the work needs to be more precise. You may be able to mirror your template though, it just depends how much overlap you plan to have at the seams. It's at least worth taking measurements on both sides to be sure.

I was thinking of doing the same thing last summer on our '91 Prostar, only I wasn't going to follow the orignal stripe line to a "T". With vinyl, you can play around with other ideas you may have, and it's really easy to start over if you don't like it.

[Swim]

Ok, reviving my old thread here. I'm finally getting around to doing this.

I bought the Oracal 751. I'm working on the template now. I ended up buying a cutter for my wife GCC Expert 24. Not the greatest I know, but it should do the job. I think the problems I'm running into are:
1 - I'm trying to do this in 2 pieces. One on port, one on starboard. What's the best way to wrap the strip around the bow and the transom so they can overlap in the middle.
2 - Anyone have any idea how to prevent this from slipping out of alignment during a 30' cut?
3 - Wet application is the best?

The other option is to take the template and draw it on to the vinyl... then hand cut it. I still run into the bow and transom issue.

Advise?

Come on sign guru's!!