DIY Shrinkwrapping

[DS410]

Any of you folks ever try doing your own shrinkwrapping? I'm not talking about the cheap blue stuff.

I heard of a company - Dr. Shrink, that sells materials and equipment. Just don't know if it's worth it to get all the stuff and try doing it myself. Any learned opinions out there?

Thanks.

David

 

[gerryb]

West now is a distributor for the Dr Shrink and the prices look really good. I've never done it myself but I always seem to get 2 comments from others who have. 1) Great to do it yourself if you have a smaller boat less than 20 ft. and 2) Wind is the real PIA with doing it yourself-- Much easier if you can do it indoors somewhere. Try it and les us know how it goes!

 

[jacktm]

Dr Shrink

My Friends and I bought this about 4 years ago. It works great and is easy to do. We do 3 boats in less than a day.

The plastic is much cheaper than $12.00 per foot. you get a 30' roll for $50.00

The hardest part is getting over shooting fire at you boat.

 

[DS410]

But our boat is 44' LOA with the swim platform and almost 14' wide. Ever try wrapping a boat that big? . . . in the water? I'm not sure how we'd be able to reach the high spots, or will the heat be able to get there without much trouble?

 

[widowmaker]

Can you use a hairdryer instead of the flame gun?

 

[jacktm]

Can you use a hairdryer instead of the flame gun?

No you have to use their torch, you could never heat up the material enough. The torch is 300,000 BTU's

 

[DS410]

So the question remains - should I try to do a boat as big as mine? Anyone know of any videos out there that teach one how to do it?

 

[widowmaker]

The Dr. Shrink website has a FAQ's page that explains the process. They say it is best if done indoors. I would think a big boat would be tough.

The flame gun costs between $600 and $1000. That rules it out for a DIY'er like me unless you could rent one.
Any other thoughts on how to get it done without the flame gun?

 

[jacktm]

I would think a larger boat would be harder.

The kit is $398.00 plus $50.00 for the wrap to do a 25' boat. That is year 1, after that you are looking at $50.00 per year

 

[PMvdb395DA]

Been shrink wrapping the boat for many years. The Dr. Shrink kit is ok, but over priced IMHO. Their cheaper touch is (or was at any rate) a utility torch, like a roofing tar torch that you can buy for about $100. The rest of their hardware kit is also over-priced. The recyclng kit's bag is far too small to fit the shink wrap removed from the boat in the spring, yet they charge a substantial amount for it. All you really need is a good torch, nylon strap, and some tape. Even the pros get burn-throughs; tape is a must. Don't bother buying vents, either. Simply cut a hole in the film and tape a larger piece of scrap over the hole such that it leaves a clam shell shaped opening facing downward.

The roofing tar touch is nice because you can get the extension and reach a little further without a lot of additional weigh. It is a little harder to use than the shrink fast torch. There is an extension available for the Shrink Fast torch. It's a little heavy, but really helps reach the middle of the top. Good luck if you burn though a hard to reach spot!

Bought from these guys http://www.shrinkit-inc.com/ this year. They are local to me, so I phoned in the order one day, and backed my Navigator to their warehouse's loading dock the next day to get my shrink wrap and supplies. Wasn't sure how well that would work out, but the pickup was very quick and easy. Next year a friend and I will probably order and pick up full rolls rather than the UPS sized ones. He has a 38' Sonic and bought 20' wide, think he can probably use 16 next year. I bought 32' wide because I didn't think 26 would do it. But the pro who was wrapping another 330DA used 26 wide. 26 wide is 39 feet longer than the 36 wide, so that might mean getting an extra year from the roll.

Get white shrink wrap. Don't get blue! If you burn though blue, and you will, the stuff melts and may stain your gelcoat. Also get at least 7 mil film; thinner burns though easier.

Haven't a clue as to how to shrink wrap a boat that's in the water.

-fc3

UUUUUHHHHH?????? :smt021 :smt021

Are you back under this name?? :smt017

You are not Frank!

Peter

Let us know Peter

Sorry for this interruption guys