anyone have success laying vinyl in cold ish temps? Any vinyl install tips?

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JV74
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Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2019 8:35 pm

anyone have success laying vinyl in cold ish temps? Any vinyl install tips?

#1 Post by JV74 » Sun Apr 12, 2020 9:56 am

Hello all....I am trying to finish my resto but this weather will no cooperate. The latest forecast for the next 10 days is not good at all. It looks like the best weather will be in the low 60's and 40's at night. Should I risk trying to lay the vinyl in these temps or hold off until we are deep into the 70's???

I should note.....I failed round 1........I had a gorgeous 70+ degree day and sunny.......I prepped and was ready to go.....even had a helper. Apparently I didnt pour nearly enough adhesive on the deck to spread with my roller. I only have 2 gallons of adhesive to cover approx 20ft of decking so I assumed I would just pour out like swirls of product on the deck then quickly roll it.....This failed completely! It flashed so quickly I couldnt even keep the deck wet. After coating two sheets of ply I aborted the mission. Now I have 2 of my 6 sheets of ply covered in cured adhesive and the rest are bare. I ran some tests with the adhesive and this vinyl and I have very little confidence in the product. For round 2 I will pour heavy lines of the product and again roll out quickly......It had better stick or I am screwed out of a lot of money and labor.

Note I had the vinyl cut to size and had watched many vids about doing half the deck and peeling back the vinyl blah blah blah.......I get that part. My questions would be......
What nap roller worked the best for you
How much product did you pour out to get the deck good and wet
What temps worked the best
What type of heavy roller did u use to roll out the air bubbles
How long before the adhesive grabbed.....this adhesive that I am using does not grab

Note I am using the Pontonnstuff products.....vinyl and adhesive.

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TWB
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Re: anyone have success laying vinyl in cold ish temps? Any vinyl install tips?

#2 Post by TWB » Mon Apr 13, 2020 7:07 am

I just did mine 2 weeks ago, fortunately without problems.

Here's the list:

* Used a medium nap roller with an extension. Takes a moment for the roller to get soaked and then rolls right on. Just like painting a room.
* The kit came with 3 jugs of adhesive. It says a gallon will do 80 - 100 sqft. My boat is 192 sqft so I wanted to make sure I used at least a gallon per half of the deck. Went on smoothly and, with my wife rolling it on, pretty quickly got a good coverage. I poured big "puddles" while she came behind me.
* It was in the low to mid 70s when I did mine. I know the product said something about 65* minimum. One thing we did do - we started early enough in the morning to be done by lunch-ish. The temp rises pretty quickly as the sun comes over the house. I wanted to be through before the working time (only 10 mins!) got shortened.
*I rented a 100# floor roller (some call it a carpet roller, some call it a linoleum roller). Did half, rolled it out from halfway to stern edge, then did 2nd half, rolled it out from halfway to bow edge. Worked great for me.
*Once I got it all rolled out and check for air bubbles/ wrinkles, I didn't really pull at it for an hour or more. It held fine. Next morning it was solid.

I also used PontoonStuff woven vinyl and the kit. You may want to ask them for advice if it seemed like it didn't go as it should. They are super to work with.

Good Luck! Be sure to post an update.

:2cents

-Paul
Paul & Michele
2003 Landau DX 24' Cruise "Loretta Jane"
2003 Mercury 75hp
My Rebuild: http://pontoonforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=26135

"Don't waste brain cells over something you can do nothing about." --My Wife

JV74
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Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2019 8:35 pm

Re: anyone have success laying vinyl in cold ish temps? Any vinyl install tips?

#3 Post by JV74 » Mon Apr 13, 2020 8:34 am

Paul...
Thanks for the reply. It is helpful to get additional info to gain confidence that I am doing the right thing. I did realize after seeing some other posts and pics that I wasnt laying nearly enough product down. But I have a 24ft boat and they only sent 2 gallons of the liquid adhesive. Looking back that would have been enough but it seemed like the gallon jug was getting light quick and the roller never got saturated. I cant tell u how bummed I was. Now with your help and a little more investigation I know to pour big puddles and go for it but I now have 2 other issues. Like I mentioned before.....

Now the first 2 sheets of marine grade ply are coated in dried adhesive.... Note I did some little tests and the vinyl seems to still stick adding more adhesive
Now I have a gallon and a half to finish the rest of my deck which would barely do the job. A 24ft boat is not 24ft of deck but still.....
I called Pontoon stuff to order another gallon and they were out of stock :( So they sold me a gallon of the Deckmate D 128 heavy trowel style adhesive.

Yes they are a good company to work with and always a human that answers the phone. The humans are great at taking orders but I wish I could get in contact with the main guy for the technical stuff.....I tried and struck out ....but to be very fair.....we are in the middle of a pandemic and the employees are working from home. But thats just my luck because maybe if I got the man on the line my vinyl would already be down and my toon would be assembled. I had better be clear again...not their fault....Im just bummed.

So if the weather ever gets above 60 degrees again I will take the leap of faith again..... working earlier in the day.......pouring big ole puddles......saturating the roller.........and slappin that vinyl down.....then folding over the other half and troweling down the other adhesive and slapping the rest of the vinyl down.

I purchased a 10ft section of 4" pvc pipe. My plan is to fill the pipe with water or sand and cap it off.....hopefully water........this should be fine for a heavy roller.

Where did u rent your roller from???? and how much was it?

Thanks again......sorry for the ramble

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sunedog
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Re: anyone have success laying vinyl in cold ish temps? Any vinyl install tips?

#4 Post by sunedog » Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:06 pm

I suggest you rent a 100 lb vinyl / linoleum roller instead of cobbling something together. Big box hardware stores (HD, Menards, etc.) and tool rental stores rent them for about $20 per day. You really want to roll that entire surface thoroughly, which for me means repeatedy.

JV74
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Re: anyone have success laying vinyl in cold ish temps? Any vinyl install tips?

#5 Post by JV74 » Tue Apr 14, 2020 5:26 pm

You dont think a 10 foot section of 4" pvc full of water capped on both ends will work? It should easily weigh close to 100lbs full and with 2 people...one on each side, we can roll the entire surface bow to stern and back again 100 times! My boat is only 8ft wide so the pipe will over hang a foot on each side. I just purchased the black rubber caps last night so I am all in.
I have a few days before my next attempt so I will stop by a local shop or two to see how much the heavy rollers rent for around here.

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steve1313
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Re: anyone have success laying vinyl in cold ish temps? Any vinyl install tips?

#6 Post by steve1313 » Wed Apr 15, 2020 2:12 am

I also don't think the pipe is the best solution for a roller. Even though it might weigh the same as a real roller, your distributing that weight over a much larger area, so the pounds of pressure applied per square inch are reduced considerably. A real roller is smaller in size because it enables you to "push" any air bubbles around to other areas. That will be much harder to do with your PVC pipe roller.
Steve
"Serendipity" - 2017 Sweetwater 2286 WB Tritoon w/ 150HP Yamaha
Slipped at Lake Anna, Virginia
Primary Residence: Richmond, Virgina
Lake House: Lake Anna, Virginia

JV74
Posts: 56
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2019 8:35 pm

Re: anyone have success laying vinyl in cold ish temps? Any vinyl install tips?

#7 Post by JV74 » Wed Apr 15, 2020 8:09 am

Ok guys thanks for the input. Steve it looks like it is a small world. My boat is also stored at Lake Anna. I am at Sturgeon Creek Marina.

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steve1313
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Re: anyone have success laying vinyl in cold ish temps? Any vinyl install tips?

#8 Post by steve1313 » Wed Apr 15, 2020 8:29 am

JV74 wrote:
Wed Apr 15, 2020 8:09 am
Ok guys thanks for the input. Steve it looks like it is a small world. My boat is also stored at Lake Anna. I am at Sturgeon Creek Marina.
I've had mine at the Lake Anna Yacht Club for the last four years. However, a friend of mine and I just leased a private boathouse with two lifts for this season. Since neither one of us own property or a house at the lake, we're really looking forward to having a boathouse for the season.
boathouseaerial1.jpeg
boathouseaerial1.jpeg (94.98 KiB) Viewed 2213 times
Steve
"Serendipity" - 2017 Sweetwater 2286 WB Tritoon w/ 150HP Yamaha
Slipped at Lake Anna, Virginia
Primary Residence: Richmond, Virgina
Lake House: Lake Anna, Virginia

JV74
Posts: 56
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2019 8:35 pm

Re: anyone have success laying vinyl in cold ish temps? Any vinyl install tips?

#9 Post by JV74 » Wed Apr 15, 2020 8:37 am

How friggin ironic!!! I was looking at that same ad. What an awesome set up. a little pricey but you were smart to share with a friend. Its like having your own place at the lake. I am so jealous!!!!

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steve1313
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Re: anyone have success laying vinyl in cold ish temps? Any vinyl install tips?

#10 Post by steve1313 » Wed Apr 15, 2020 9:06 am

JV74 wrote:
Wed Apr 15, 2020 8:37 am
How friggin ironic!!! I was looking at that same ad. What an awesome set up. a little pricey but you were smart to share with a friend. Its like having your own place at the lake. I am so jealous!!!!
I thought the price they were asking was crazy, so I gave them a low offer (less than what we were paying for two slips at LAYC) and they accepted. The only thing I had to agree to was covering the expense to have the bunks on the lifts redone. One needed new wood and carpet and the other was setup to hold jetskis and not my pontoon boat. I'm getting that work done for about $250, so I think we'll be all set. We hope to "move-in" this weekend.
Steve
"Serendipity" - 2017 Sweetwater 2286 WB Tritoon w/ 150HP Yamaha
Slipped at Lake Anna, Virginia
Primary Residence: Richmond, Virgina
Lake House: Lake Anna, Virginia

JV74
Posts: 56
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2019 8:35 pm

Re: anyone have success laying vinyl in cold ish temps? Any vinyl install tips?

#11 Post by JV74 » Wed Apr 15, 2020 10:19 am

Awesome......smart man! The place looks brand new in the pics. Would u be allowed to stay the night if u wanted to? I saw in the original ad that there was a room with a tv or something like that. It also looks like there is a big fire pit too!!! Maybe you could bring a rv or pitch tents? Maybe the neighbors wouldnt be too happy about that.

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