Restoring an Old Yammie

[E.T.]

A client of mine brought this cowl to me....





Note the crackling of the plastic on the V200 Sign



And wanted to know if I could revamp it for him. Well I took some snaps and designed the decals and gave the cowl back to them to paint it. While they were busy with it, they dropped it and damaged the front plastic sign....





So I ended up doing the whole thing in the end.....













You will note that the decal is not completely secure on the bottom as the water is still draining. It should sit nice and tight within the next few minutes.

[Lofty]

looking very good... what do you meem by "the water is still draining"...?

[isivuba]

   looks awesome Koos.

[Willie]

  look great Koos

[E.T.]

looking very good... what do you meem by "the water is still draining"...?

Lofty we use a soapy water to stick these decals. The soapy water enables us to move them around and then we use a squeegee to push all the water out. Now the reason why the water is still draining there is because it is right on a seam and that is usually where all the excess water accumulates. So by lifting the bottom edge of the decal the decal and the water dries out/ drains out and then the decal gets pushed down and sits nice and tight without lifting again.


Is this making any sense?

[Lofty]

so the soapy water does nothing to the glue on the back of the decal... or is there no glue,and the soapy water does the sticking on it's own...?Otherwise it makes perfect sense...thanks for the reply...

[E.T.]

so the soapy water does nothing to the glue on the back of the decal... or is there no glue,and the soapy water does the sticking on it's own...?Otherwise it makes perfect sense...thanks for the reply...

The soapy water does nothing to the glue. It's only a drop of sunlight into one of those Squeegee Bottles. If you have a sticker that picked up some dust, you could actually reactivate the glue by rinsing it with soapy water. Plain water doesn't aid you in moving the decals, it grips sort of instantly. The soapy water enables you to move it around and then by using a squeegee you rub/press/scrape/push all the water out and within minutes your decal is secured, without any bubbles.


If you take a large decal and try and apply it dry, you will end up with bubbles under the decal most of the time.

[Lofty]

thanks again,it makes sense,didn't know that,very interesting... I've been contemplating refubishing my cowl too,but don't know where to source stickers from... will definately try your system of applying the decals...

[E.T.]

thanks again,it makes sense,didn't know that,very interesting... I've been contemplating refubishing my cowl too,but don't know where to source stickers from... will definately try your system of applying the decals...

I have done quite a few cowls before i.e Yamaha, Suzuki, Evenrude and the list goes on.
I have a few cowls on my PC ranging from old to fairly new designs.

[Lofty]

mine is an old model mariner 25...I should perhaps go find out at the local boat shop too...

[E.T.]

mine is an old model mariner 25...I should perhaps go find out at the local boat shop too...

Show me a photo, maybe I have it on my system?

[Lofty]

will take one later and try send it...

[E.T.]

Lofty


Here is the Mariner Decals I have on my PC.
Is this what you are after?


See attachment.

[Lofty]

Hi Koos,no unfortunately not...mine looks something like this..hope this works...

[E.T.]

Hi Koos,no unfortunately not...mine looks something like this..hope this works...

I have that somewhere. Just need to scratch around.

[Lofty]

there's no way one can remove decals without damaging it...?and would it stick again,because mine are in decent condition still...

[E.T.]

there's no way one can remove decals without damaging it...?and would it stick again,because mine are in decent condition still...

Nope!!! But why do you want to take it off if it's still good?

[Lofty]

there's no way one can remove decals without damaging it...?and would it stick again,because mine are in decent condition still...

Nope!!! But why do you want to take it off if it's still good?

to restore the cowling...it needs sanding,and then to be re-sprayed...

[E.T.]

there's no way one can remove decals without damaging it...?and would it stick again,because mine are in decent condition still...

Nope!!! But why do you want to take it off if it's still good?

to restore the cowling...it needs sanding,and then to be re-sprayed...

Then you have to redo the decals. Go to the agents and ask what those decals will cost. If you haven't died of a heart attack or stroke, then please share it here.

Now what you could do is to trace the decals on a piece of paper, take photos with accurate measurements and take that to your local sign shop and ask them for a quote. Or take the whole cowl in and ask them to copy the decals first before you strip it off. Once they are done, you can strip it and paint it and then take it back to the sign shop and let them apply the decals.

The 2nd option I have mentioned will save you some money as they should cost a quarter to half the price of the agent's cost on those decals.

[Lofty]

  Koos,I'll go find out at the signshop I think... thanks for the advice..