Paint or vinyl on Alpackas

I am interested in various methods of boat marking. John with Pioneer Signs in Wasilla did the vinyl lettering on my Llama. (pioneersigns@gci.net) It has held up well through some tight rolling and re-inflating. We started with the vinyl as we are unsure the effect krylon or other paints may have on Alpacka plastics. Has anyone tested any paints or perhaps some heavy duty adhesives to use with a vinyl material? Thank you for your input.

I drew on mine with a sharpy. I call him… Wilson.
I have yet to notice any chemical bubbling or deformation from writing with a Sharpy marker. A lot cheaper too:^)

Our second raft was written on by a whole bunch of different people using a black Sharpie. It has held up for years and not had any effect on the fabric.

Hey Artur, good to see you on the board again, have you already noticed, I sent you an pm some week ago. Sorry to missuse the thread. S

Cool lettering.

Adhesives & Stickers seem to do very well on the boats. The key appears to be cleaning the area well before applying. Otherwise, they peel a lot quicker.

Paint: Don’t know about this. I’ll take my test “basher” [a chewed-up boat that’s had - I think - three different spray decks], and put some different paints on it, then use it for awhile. I’ll repost once I’ve got results. My guess is the coating surface is way too slick and flexible to hold it for a long time.

I don’t know about Krylon. Anybody know about any spray or brush-on pigments that are flexible and rubbery, rather than hard like paint?

Also, put up a new article recently on boat-decorating. Feedback is welcome. Here it is: http://www.alpackaraft.com/index.cfm?section=repair-and-custom&page=Custom-Enhancements&viewpost=2&ContentId=2759

We’ve also written on our boats with sharpie. No problems, except it does eventually fade or wear off…

My Alpacka-painting adventure did not meet with success. :frowning: I used Rustoleum surveyor’s paint, and a camo color. Once dry, I could start flaking both off immediately, just by working the fabric with my hands. The urethane is not adherent for the paint, and I think the flexibility of the fabric also contributes. Painting Alpacka = doesn’t seem to work

Just wondering, as the link to the custom enhancements page is down, and there weren’t too terribly many final answers, what the concensus was on “customizing” your boat?

-Thomas
-West Slope, CO