Posted by Tony Segale on April 04, 2003
Mike JacksonSome friends of mine purchased a canoe made of kevlar, asked for a name lettered on it. I designed flowing leaf type letters for the Indian name "Rontu" (meaning fox eyes). Prepared the pattern, prepped the canoe, applied a base coat of imitation gold one-shot with hardener added in preperation of maroon airbrushed blends.
After drying overnight, I tested the adhesion and I was able to lightly scratch through the lettering and therefor removed it all in a matter of minutes. Kevlar is the material bullet proof vests or made and apparently is five times stronger than steel. I've lettered boats with a fiberglas gel coat and the paint can leave a stain when removed, but kevlar... this stuff is extremely tough and non-porous. You couldn't tell where it was "bon-ami"ed (is that a word?),
painted or rubbed with alcohol, still has the original sheen. Guess I have to lower the job a bit and resort to vinyl. Anybody else work with kevlar?
Thanks,
Tony Segale
Barbara SchillingTony, You could probably still do the lettering on enamel receptive vinyl, then apply the whole thing. We have a winnona canoe made of kevlar. The vinyl stuck fine on ours!
Mike
Good this subject came up! I just today took an order for lettering a kevlar canoe. Never even thought about adhesion. Oops.
Barbara S.
Denver Chapter of the Letterheads