Getting stickers to stay permanently on skis

[seastraight]

Love the get off of my tail idea. One easy solution to stickers that worked for me was to buy stickers in an auto supply store that are used on cars. I cut them out and put them on the skis; they stayed for at least 2 seasons. At least then I could identify my own boring skis outside the lodge!

 

[leia1979]

This is a little tangential, but as we talked about using gel nail polish with stickers on skis, I just used some to fix up topsheet damage, and I thought I'd share how it turned out. I ended up not using top coat on most of it because it was just too shiny (that I dulled with a fine-grain buffer). DND DC shade 252-Seaweed is a great match for the Wild Belle!


I even repainted the faded Nordica logo.

 

[TiffAlt]

This is a little tangential, but as we talked about using gel nail polish with stickers on skis, I just used some to fix up topsheet damage, and I thought I'd share how it turned out. I ended up not using top coat on most of it because it was just too shiny (that I dulled with a fine-grain buffer). DND DC shade 252-Seaweed is a great match for the Wild Belle!
View attachment 21187

I even repainted the faded Nordica logo.
View attachment 21188

Oh wow, these look great!!

 

[Sokolva]

This is a little tangential, but as we talked about using gel nail polish with stickers on skis, I just used some to fix up topsheet damage, and I thought I'd share how it turned out. I ended up not using top coat on most of it because it was just too shiny (that I dulled with a fine-grain buffer). DND DC shade 252-Seaweed is a great match for the Wild Belle!
View attachment 21187

I even repainted the faded Nordica logo.
View attachment 21188

This is an excellent tip to know, sounds like several people have used this to good success on top sheets! I’ll definitely try this out.

 

[Sokolva]

Reviving this thread because ski season is coming and I am doing the finishing fixes on the Epoxy sticker job! For those who are wanting to try this, a few lessons I learned from my mistakes:

1: G/Flex Epoxy seems very durable and works well as expected, but has to be measured very accurately and mixed for a long time. Mix well for about 3-5 minutes. If not, it may stay tacky for weeks.

2. When this thick epoxy is applied to the back of a sticker and on top of it, the chemical composition of the epoxy may cause the sticker to curl up at the edges and it’s difficult to flatten it out because it has such a long cure time. Solution: stick the sticker firmly to the ski first, let that dry, and then coat the stickers top afterwards once it is fully sealed and cured to the ski top sheet.

3. If foggy air bubbles form and don’t go away in the epoxy, probably due to humidity in the air, use a hair dryer or heat gun gently over he epoxy while it is drying until the fog melts away.

4. Keep dust and particles in the air away from the drying epoxy and don’t touch it while it is tacky. For long drying epoxy, this can make the surface grainy so that you have to sand it off and recoat.


I sanded the surface of the epoxy smooth using very high grit sandpapers (320-1000 grit, wet sandpaper, sanding gently by hand) and then painted more G Flex epoxy very lightly over the surface to restore the full shine and protection. I had to sand the top layer off simply to remove the dust and debris that got into the epoxy during its weeks of tackiness when I didn’t mix it properly the first time. It is currently drying. I had to use a hair dryer to remove the high amount of fog that formed in the epoxy this time, and it worked quite well. Sorry for the not ideal pictures, I will get better ones when this project is finally done.

Can’t wait to see how this turns out looks wise, but from what I can tell, the epoxy has hardened to become a part of the ski itself and the only way to remove it would be to grind it and the sticker off the surface of the ski. It’s completely waterproof inside it’s seal of epoxy, and I hope it remains as sturdy as it appears to be!

Anyone else tried out some cool customizations over the summer in preparation for ski season?

 

[Amie H]

My stickers haven't fallen off in several yrs - no special application technique. I can't get them to stay on my SporTube, though...

After losing one off my Sportube via baggage handling, I now cover every sticker with an ample amount of clear packing tape. I have also taped some large zip ties to the case for emergency closures in case TSA/ski valet/I lose the locking post thingy. And I taped my contact info on BOTH sections of the tube.

 

[Sokolva]

AAAANNND the finished customization! Dried crystal clear with no fog after using the dryer on the drying epoxy. Much better than the first round of epoxy! And it dried much faster this time. Only one was slightly tacky after less than 24 hours, should completely harden in the next few days.

 

[Sokolva]