What kind of paint to use over this plastic nameplate?

[lilbabypenguin]

Hello friends! We need to paint black over the name on this so we can put new lettering on. The actual piece is made of plastic and attached to the boat in a way that it cannot easily be removed.
The current letters are totally smooth and flush, so luckily no sanding is needed. But- I'm just not sure what kind of paint to get to cover this that will stay on it well so to avoid the new vinyl lettering peeling off. Enamel?
Thanks for any input.
PS to be clear in referring to the black name plate on the picture that has the boat name on it. Thank you



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[neilpride]

Whatever you use it without sanding the actual coating is going to peel off sooner or later, my advice.... light sanding and a 2 part poly ....Cheers.

[Cheechako]

What material is it? cant see.... there are some things paint wont stick to.... also, be aware that vinyl lettering need a completely flat smooth surface.. like glass or smooth gel coat. Otherwise it gets bubbles under and eventually starts falling off.

[lilbabypenguin]

Thanks the 2 of you. It is made of plastic.
The folks at sherwin Williams suggested enamel. But I thought I would ask here first.
I will lightly sand it to rough it up first, good call.
2 part Poly- sorry I don't know what that is. 😁


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[Cheechako]

If the "plastic" is actually Starboard or the like, I'm not sure paint will stick well. So it's some type of brown plastic?
Is the gold lettering paint? If so tat's a good omen!

[lilbabypenguin]

Cheecako, I'm not completely sure what type of plastic it is. PO did this. In walking down there now and will see if I can peek into the back of it somehow to gather more info.


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[lilbabypenguin]

Here is an up close view of it. The plastic material appears to be black already. But the front seems to be painted a glossier black.
I just may have an email from the PO about what this stuff is. I would just need to look it up when I am near my laptop- which is 5 hours away and I won't be there til next week. But if needed I can be patient and just do it next time I'm down. ☺️



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[Cheechako]

Looks a bit like UHMW.
Is it slick feeling?
Is the current lettering vinyl? If so can you just take it off with a heat gun? Even if it's painted over plastic, maybe a heat gun will remove it?
Maybe a sign painter would know what paint was used for the lettering?

[lilbabypenguin]

Thanks for helping me!
The front of it is very shiny and slick. The very top edge is more matte and black- which is what makes me think he did a shiny black paint over the whole front before doing the lettering.
The letters themselves appear like those reflective sticker letters and are definitely edged in red paint. But I cannot feel any texture at all, so it's hard to tell if those are stickers or just an unusual paint? There is absolutely no edge to them.
I've read about easy off over cleaner removing lettering. Maybe I should try a little of that on the lettering to see if they can lift off? It's weird how utterly smooth it is, while appearing to be stickers.
Such a beautiful job, too bad we don't like the name. 😜


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[hellosailor]

If it IS plastic, the coloring may be IN the plastic, and all you may need to do it sand off all of the old surface (name) then bring it up to a high polish again.


Maybe use 320 grit to clean it down, then try 400-600-800-1000 to bring it back up to a near mirror finish (ok, there's 3000 grit for that, really, and it sure is shiny). If the 320 grit takes off "all" the color, that's OK too, because you'd follow that up with 400 to make a nicely prepped surface for whatever new paint you were applying. But if it IS plastic...finding the right paint and primer may be difficult. Sanding it down to a mirror finish and applying new lettering may be better than repainting plastic.
Make sure the plastic lettering is a premium grade marine vinyl, from 3M or Gerber, etc., not just something the sign shop gets a bargain on. The good stuff will have a five or seven year warranty and hold up much better in sunlight.

[lilbabypenguin]

Thanks so much!
Yes we have good quality vinyl lettering that will hopefully hold up well.
I don't think this will sand down to a shiny finish. I wish it would. But it appears that the material is matte (based on the upper edge that appears to be virgin surface and it matte). So I think the PO did some sort of glossy paint over it.
I've determined the gold letters are stickers, and they are maybe painted over with a gloss and that's why it's so shiny and does not have any detectable edges.
I just wanna do this thing so bad! But I gotta be patient and find the best solution. 😁


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[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by lilbabypenguin

Thanks so much!
Yes we have good quality vinyl lettering that will hopefully hold up well.
I don't think this will sand down to a shiny finish. I wish it would. But it appears that the material is matte (based on the upper edge that appears to be virgin surface and it matte). So I think the PO did some sort of glossy paint over it.
I've determined the gold letters are stickers, and they are maybe painted over with a gloss and that's why it's so shiny and does not have any detectable edges.
I just wanna do this thing so bad! But I gotta be patient and find the best solution. ��


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Keep the name and move on to real problems!
Ok.. if not.. I'd probably try the heat gun, careful though. paint or applied it should come right off that stuff.

[lilbabypenguin]

Hehe- I hear ya, it would be easier to keep the name- but nahhhh! If we liked everything the easy way, we wouldn't be sailors, right? 😜
I'll try heat gun- it would be great if it just peeled right off.
Now to go about finding/borrowing one.
Thank you!



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[neilpride]

Are you sure is plastic? i have the same stuff in my stern holding the name of the boat, looks like plastic but in fact its a fiberglass mold painted in awlgrip... just be sure is plastic...Hint.

[hellosailor]

It is even possible that they made the plaque as many plaques and bowling trophies are made, by laminating a thin shiny front layer on top of some other material. In that case something like a thin sheet of glossy formica, applied with contact cement and trimmed flush with a router, would give you a new start.


If you can find out where they had it done, or find someone (a sign shop?) who can look at some closeup pictures to get a better idea...