Wouldn't paint make a Yak's hair a sticky, tangled mess? And how well do Yaks really do in the Bay currents...?

 

Great- thanks again... I will probably try a couple of the first products suggested on a test spot and see how that goes and decide what to do from there...

 

It's true Yaks stink when wet, hard to maneuver, tend to run away with your heavy loads and eat too much. Now the kayak is a different animal, comes in different colors, small, large, wide, narrow, slow, fast, low or high dollar, some want to capsize ya in a heart beat some are stable as a barge. All in all they are a blast to own, like a back to nature thing.
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Most plastic boats such as canoes and kayaks are made of polyethylene, which is extremely difficult to paint - however, I cannot speak for any of the newer primers, since they've appeared after my time in plastics. In the late 80's and early 90's some outfits would "flame treat" polyethylene parts before painting by playing a flame over the surface until it appeared smooth and watery. It was supposed to increase the surface tension of the plastic and aid in the adhesion. It worked sorta-kinda, but was more of an art than a science.

For many years, most of the "plastic" parts on cars was fiberglass, which is usually a polyester base with glass reinforcement, and is a polyset material (it won't remelt). With proper primer, painting is not a problem.

That "roto mold" stuff is referring to a process called rotamolding, in which dry plastic (usually polyethylene) in powdered form is put inside a closed mold, which is then rotated about 3 axes while being subjected to heat. It melts and forms a nearly uniform coating on the inside of the mold. It is then removed from the heat and cooled (all the while still rotating) until it is cool enough and solid enough to remove from the mold. An advantage of this process is that it tends to build up heavier in the corners, which makes it great for such items as gas tanks. Colorant can be added to the powdered plastic, and things like pictures and labels can be added to the inside of the mold so that they will melt into the surface of the plastic, and will not scratch off.

 

On the Hotrodder forum they were talking about painting automotive plastic, one suggestion was to use XTREME #5425 a epoxy / acrylic polymer which is flexable. Rotamold is a trade mark name for the roto (rotational) mold process.
Kayaks can come in poly, fiberglass or epoxy with fiberglass or kevlar matt, you must know what it is before repairing.

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