wrapping a ski help

[makejetskiinggreatagain]

A friend of a friend owns a company that does all of the boat wraps for the local boat dealership. I might be getting a significant deal on one so I'm going to peruse it. However, this particular guy only does wraps above the waterline of boats and is afraid to do anything below because he is concerned about the water pressure pulling it off. I know a lot of you guys have your entire skis wrapped, so my question is are there any special considerations to be made when wrapping the bottom of the ski to make sure it lasts (other than not beaching it of course)? For example, should the wrap be cut just under the bond line or should it essentially have no seems under the bond line or should the seem be placed at the bond line where turf will be covering it?? I may sound like a total moron, but I don't know anything about this. Tell me how its done. I've never looked into this before. When I meet with him I would like to tell him how you guys do it and see if he would be willing to test his own boundaries on my ski. Thanks.

 

[Henry Stephen]

Clear coat w/ epoxy. Unless you want to change out your graphics frequently

 

[jetpilot36]

yeah. you'll have to add something to the outside to stop the peeling. like a clearcoat. I've seen it done only on the edges.

 

[Fro Diesel]

@jeremy chambon

 

[makejetskiinggreatagain]

yeah. you'll have to add something to the outside to stop the peeling. like a clearcoat. I've seen it done only on the edges.

do you guys clear coat the whole ski after its wrapped?

 

[jetpilot36]

you can. some do. but I've seen it only on the edges also.

 

[Lm12]

You do not need to clear coat it. There is a product made by 3m that is used in the vinyl industry called edge sealer. Its clear and dries almost invisible. It is applied to the edge of the vinyl below the water line.

 

[BrightE's]

Don't wrap the underside that comes into contact with the ground or bunks. Don't wrap any of the pump area. Everything else is good to wrap. Don't clear coat, that's only a mess waiting to happen once it does start pealing. Use 3D edge sealer or the 3M edge tape 8914 to hold down everything, it will especially help on the bottom deck where drag from water can pull up vinyl.

 

[Fro Diesel]

What if someone is applying a vinyl sticker below the bondline? Would clearcoat be sufficient?

 

[BrightE's]

I'm partial to not using clear at all. Every ski gets dinged up, and it would be my thought that there already isn't much for the clear to adhere to over the vinyl. It's a damn smooth surface that vinyl. I'd hate to see what it looked like after a few run-ins with the dock or ski lift if the clear starts chipping away.

Maybe there are some softer polyurethane clears that might work better though if you're sold on using it?

 

[AtomicPunk]

you'll be fine, the OEMs use "wraps" (better known as decals) below the bond line... just leave a 1/4 inch from the edges then maybe some edge sealer and be done.

 

[lanmine657]

Try Reynolds rap with Elmer's glue sticks

 

[shepster]

Don't wrap the underside of the ski! Been there done that and it lasted two rides, now painted and no problems. Top wrap has held up great, please don't waste your time and money doing the underside. Ski in question is in my avatar