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Getting stickers to stay permanently on skis

sorcamc

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
this thread also made me consider getting a pair of totally custom skis. there is a company in PA that will do it, and there is an artist Id have to reach to get permission, but OMG, they would be amazing one of a kind conversation starter skis.
 

shadoj

Angel Diva
this thread also made me consider getting a pair of totally custom skis. there is a company in PA that will do it, and there is an artist Id have to reach to get permission, but OMG, they would be amazing one of a kind conversation starter skis.
There are a handful of smaller indy ski companies that will. Shaggy's in Michigan and Meier in Colorado come to mind. Once you're famous enough, though, you can just start your own named artistic line ;)
 

Sokolva

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I will never be famous, but guys, you have to see ..wouldnt this be the coolest graphic on a ski ? Split obviously, but I LOVE this wise Celtic owl by Jen Delyth. the colors....Muah!!!

View attachment 20861
That would be incredible!!! If you ever get one of those custom vinyl wraps made to protect and customize a ski top sheet, this would be an incredible graphic to use! Please do post on the forum if you do so to show results!
 

Sokolva

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Update: Just finished applying the G-Flex epoxy that was recommended to me as the epoxy that Moment uses for top sheet repairs on my Sierra skis.

Step 1: Picked out where I wanted the stickers to lie on the skis, taking a lot of time and trying out many different positions before finding the one I liked best.


Step 2: As recommended on here, I lightly sanded the place where I was going to be gluing the stickers.

Step 3: I used isopropyl alcohol and shop paper towels (lint free, the blue ones) to wipe away the sanding residue and clean the area thoroughly. Also used alcohol to clean any oils from my fingers from the surface of the vinyl.

Step 4: I mixed the 2 part G-Flex epoxy together thoroughly.

Step 5: Peeled off the back of the stickers and applied epoxy lightly to the edges of the sticker and in the middle. Pressed the sticker to the skis and made sure the epoxy squished out to seal the edges. Used a paint brush to smooth this epoxy along the edges of the stickers.

Step 6: Applied a thin coat of epoxy to the surface of the stickers to seal and waterproof them. Created a dappling, textured effect on the epoxy using my paintbrush, which I hope stays present as it dries, but it may level on its own. This was to blend in with the textured nylon surface of the skis to make the sticker look more uniform as a part of the ski.

Waiting now for the epoxy to dry! Will post pictures when it does and let everyone know my results. I didn’t clamp the stickers as they won’t be weight bearing and they were completely coated in epoxy, leaving no surface to clamp. Hoping this isn’t a mistake and it works as planned!1DCAA2BA-7BBE-4ACE-8FDF-7CF943750D68.jpeg
2E854D46-F700-42C3-9BC0-59EB3EC80299.jpeg
CCE85C94-989B-448F-8F34-0F972BF94EB1.jpeg
 

leia1979

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
That looks great! I just had an idea a bit late in case anyone else wants to decorate.

Back in the day, I worked for a cell phone manufacturer, and our products had a clear UV-cured topcoat on top of the paint. That UV top coat is not much different than gel nail polish. Gel polish is more durable and flexible than regular nail polish, though it will crack with enough flex. Potentially you could use gel polish as a protective topcoat and then cure it either outside on a sunny day or with a portable nail lamp (the one I have is open on the bottom).

However, I think the marine epoxy should work well, too. Sanding the surface and prepping it with alcohol is exactly the right thing to do, in my experience. Epoxy is pretty darn durable.
 

TiffAlt

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Ok, I've purchased some vinyl decals for my Yumis! Will personalize soon, gotta make these mine and take care of that sticker envy! :tongue:

I like crafts so I have some E6000 I'm going to try out!
 

Sokolva

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Ok, I've purchased some vinyl decals for my Yumis! Will personalize soon, gotta make these mine and take care of that sticker envy! :tongue:

I like crafts so I have some E6000 I'm going to try out!
Oooh please post the project when the stickers come in! Can’t wait to see how you decorate those skis, Volkl really leaves you with a lot of nicely colored blank canvas that you can fill up in all sorts of ways!
 

Sokolva

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
That looks great! I just had an idea a bit late in case anyone else wants to decorate.

Back in the day, I worked for a cell phone manufacturer, and our products had a clear UV-cured topcoat on top of the paint. That UV top coat is not much different than gel nail polish. Gel polish is more durable and flexible than regular nail polish, though it will crack with enough flex. Potentially you could use gel polish as a protective topcoat and then cure it either outside on a sunny day or with a portable nail lamp (the one I have is open on the bottom).

However, I think the marine epoxy should work well, too. Sanding the surface and prepping it with alcohol is exactly the right thing to do, in my experience. Epoxy is pretty darn durable.
Very interesting! When I talked to Luke from Moment skis he mentioned a pro skier with them uses nail polish to add durability to his vinyl stickers. If someone tries this, let me know how long lasting it is! I never had much luck getting even high quality nail polishes to last on my hands so I worried that they would just chip on the skis, but it might be a lot more durable on a flat surface even with the flexing.
 

Sokolva

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The curing process is going well so far! Have them sitting on a flat surface, and the epoxy is hardened but still a bit tacky to the touch—it says it won’t be fully cured until about 24 hours or more, due to our humidity in Oklahoma. Seems extremely hard and solid so far though!

Should I sand the surface of the epoxy with a fine grain sand paper to create a textured surface to match the textured Nylon of the skis, or would this just make the glossy epoxy look foggy? Anyone have any experience with this?090B0ACA-46F9-4014-87D5-D5BF55472AB6.jpeg
So far I’m extremely excited with how it turned out!
 

TiffAlt

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Oooh please post the project when the stickers come in! Can’t wait to see how you decorate those skis, Volkl really leaves you with a lot of nicely colored blank canvas that you can fill up in all sorts of ways!
Of course! But be warned that the first time might look a little rough and all that :becky:
 

TiffAlt

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The curing process is going well so far! Have them sitting on a flat surface, and the epoxy is hardened but still a bit tacky to the touch—it says it won’t be fully cured until about 24 hours or more, due to our humidity in Oklahoma. Seems extremely hard and solid so far though!

Should I sand the surface of the epoxy with a fine grain sand paper to create a textured surface to match the textured Nylon of the skis, or would this just make the glossy epoxy look foggy? Anyone have any experience with this?View attachment 20989
So far I’m extremely excited with how it turned out!
It's coming out very nicely indeed! if you have a dehumidifier anywhere, might want to stick it by the skis just in case. As @sorcamc says, I think you shouldn't mess with it too much. I don't imagine the epoxy is very thick so you'd need a very light touch to avoid potentially damaging the stickers! That'd be such a shame too.
 

TiffAlt

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@Sokolva

As promised, I laid out everything today. Have not had the time to start, but will probably get to it sometime this week.

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I am going to trim off the stray plastic edges with my extra sharp fabric scissors and clean the areas I am putting the vinyl stickers with alcohol. I think I will lightly sand with a magic eraser to increase adherence and am using an old plastic Disney pass to smooth out any bubbles as I lay them down. These vinyls are all supposed to be waterproof.

I was going to use E6000, but rethought it cause it's just too goopy. I instead went and bought acrylic nail glue that's thinly spreadable. I will be cutting the vinyls closer to shape and spreading the glue on the edges.

It's not as pretty as your holographic stickers, but it was hard to find what I wanted in the holographic catgory, so I just went with flat white. I picked the feathers turning into birds because my Yumis are light as a feather and can really fly. I went with the inhale and exhale words cause sometimes you just get anxious on a new challenge and you have to calm your mind. I also don't like skiers too close to me and my son has a penchant for doing this, so it's mostly for him. I think he'll get a kick out of it!
 

scandium

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Oh, I needed this thread more than I thought! The non-waterproof holo stickers I want to add to my snowboard are suddenly looking like an actual option...
 

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