Genuine Gold Leaf Lettering??

Hey all, I am looking for a source to have my boat name made for Jimi Thing IV. I have used myboatsign.com for the last 3 and was extremely happy with their product. I am looking to get Genuine 22kt Gold Leaf "vinyl" lettering. Everything I have found so far is imitation and I'm afraid it will look as cheap as it cost. So far I have tried

Boatdecal.biz
customvinyllettering.net
boatletteringtoyou.com
boatus.com

I had the real gold leaf lettering on the boat before my Tiara. It was a PIA to deal with because of the soft finish. It required fussy detailing and in my view was not worth the extra cost. Had that boat had a mahogany transom with 15 coats of varnish it would have been a great choice. I went with the fake gold on the Tiara and it looked great for the many years I owned the boat.
The service department at the marina I used recommended a transom artist to do the work. It looked great but was not a good value. Check with your marina for a local artist.

I had real gold leaf on my 390EC....loved the look but hated the upkeep (the gold leaf had to be top coated with a clear acrylic and if it flaked to chipped off, the gold underneath would tarnish when the air got to it. Then there was the worry that someone would drag purse, a tool bag, a coiled line, or an anchor along the transom and repairs are very difficult to match unless you remove the entire damaged letter.

The guy that did the 390 gold leaf retired and sold his half of his yacht services business to his brother. Both brothers remain good friends of ours and we see them when ever we are at the beach. The brother still in the business is a true artist with wood but gold leaf takes too much time to be profitable so he contracts real gold leaf jobs out. Another issue is cost. The last name they did on my 390EC was in the mid 90's and the cost was about $3000, just for the gold.

I used a local sign guy in Panama City Beach for the name on my 450DA. As much as I love the look of real gold leaf, this sign guy begged me to let him do the name in vinyl and promised to remove it if I wasn't pleased.

We loved it! This looks better than most real gold leaf names in this area,....and, this name has been on the boat 15 years and needs no special care or attention. I am not sure of the process used here, but I think the name is cut out in black, then the gold leaf is hand cut to fit on the black vinyl so the black appears as an outline, then the gold and black is covered with clear vinyl so the gold is sealed and protected and since the edges are under a vinyl cover, they cannot snag or lift.

Another thing to notice is that the name on the 450DA was so well planned that there are no letters that land on the transom door or lazzarette seams.

I have no idea if this fellow can/will work remotely, but probably because there are a million Sea Rays in Panama City Beach and he works in the marina all the time so getting dimensions on the same model shouldn't be an issue. Also, I've known him and his family for about 25 years and I've never heard any of them say " That can't be done".

If you want his contact information, shoot me a PM and I'll sent it on to you.


Frank

Want something impressive! Viking at marina next to mine that I go past, had an etch done on the sedan glass doors going into cabin, sailfish jumping out of water with ‘Viking’ above and boat name below, it’s a freaking work of art! Amazing, try get a picture this summer to pot. Can’t imagine what that cost, beautiful beyond imagine.

Here is shot of the fake gold on the Tiara. Not the best pic but gives you an idea. The real gold did not look as good.

That looks great and I agree that on a wood transom, the real deal is a must.

I’d talk to a sign painter. Many of them are pin stripers too and do bikes, fire trucks and whatnot.

sbw1 said:

View attachment 102751
Here is shot of the fake gold on the Tiara. Not the best pic but gives you an idea. The real gold did not look as good.

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Ok here is a shameful thread hijack. This is what a good aft curtain looks like. No window. No zippers that leak. Stainless snaps. We gained a 13x13 foot air conditioned dry room with this curtain. We had breakfast in our pajamas every morning in the aft cockpit when cruising and no one knew. About noon the ac would struggle to keep it cool and we we would take it down for the day unless it was rainy. If that happened we would read there. Great space.

sbw1 said:

We had breakfast in our pajamas every morning in the aft cockpit when cruising and no one knew.

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Pajamas ?

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it......

sbw1 said:

View attachment 102751
Here is shot of the fake gold on the Tiara. Not the best pic but gives you an idea. The real gold did not look as good.

Click to expand...

sbw1 said:

Ok here is a shameful thread hijack. This is what a good aft curtain looks like. No window. No zippers that leak. Stainless snaps. We gained a 13x13 foot air conditioned dry room with this curtain. We had breakfast in our pajamas every morning in the aft cockpit when cruising and no one knew. About noon the ac would struggle to keep it cool and we we would take it down for the day unless it was rainy. If that happened we would read there. Great space.

Click to expand...

Did that help with the wakes coming over the transom when docked at your home?

techmitch said:

Did that help with the wakes coming over the transom when docked at your home?

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Yeah. I always keep two aft curtains. One is old and goes on the boat when it is stored or in our slip. The other is new and used only for when slipped at transient marinas. We also use the drop curtain most unless we are looking for privacy. We don’t worry about wakes coming over the transom as there is nothing in the aft cockpit to be damaged by wakes, but the curtain does keep the wakes out of the boat.

I just got my new name lettering with outline in gold from the Boat US site.
Ordered on Sunday and sent USPS for free. Could not believe they got here last night. Very happy with the product and price.
Carpe Diem