Painting your Fins

[MyDiveLog]

I like to paint the bottom of my fins to make it easier for students and buddies to easily identify me u/w in the sometimes murky water of So. Cal.

I taped-off the bottom of the fins to mask everything but the the "raised panels" of the ScubaPro Twin Jets and Apollo Bio Fins. I used a spray paint called Kyrex's "Fusion," for painting plastic, and it worked great!. I got the paint at Michael's, a local craft/hobby shop.

I'd hand painted them a year ago with several coats of bright yellow acrylic paint. The paint stayed on pretty well, but got darn scraped and haggard looking after about a hundred dives (most of which were beach dives). The recent paint job seems much more durable, was easier (due to spray paint) and, with some creative masking, I was able to create distinctive blue & yellow patterns.

Anyone else paint the bottom of their fins?

[archman]

That's flipping bizarre! Of course, now I want to do it. Great.

[OBXDIVEGUY]

I haven't seen paint, but I have seen decals on the bottoms of fins. Something else I've seen to distinguish yourself to the students is to dip the fingers of your gloves into that plastic tool dip stuff. The bright yellow rubber coating shows up pretty well in murky water, and it really lengthens the life of your gloves when pulling yourself along some of the rusty wrecks around here.

[crpntr133]

I know not to use regular plastic model paint on the rubber part of your fins. I used it on my Oceanic Vectors and it is smearing even after couple of weeks of drying.

Intersting to know about the paint that will work. I just might have to try that.

[MyDiveLog]

Just checked .. the brand is Krylon "Fusion", for painting plastic (not Kryex, as I put in my original post)

[Sprinter]

Good idea. My neoprene gloves shows much damage after its second season. What is the dip stuff called? Where can I find them? Thanks. : :06:

I haven't seen paint, but I have seen decals on the bottoms of fins. Something else I've seen to distinguish yourself to the students is to dip the fingers of your gloves into that plastic tool dip stuff. The bright yellow rubber coating shows up pretty well in murky water, and it really lengthens the life of your gloves when pulling yourself along some of the rusty wrecks around here.

[cool_hardware52]

Good idea. My neoprene gloves shows much damage after its second season. What is the dip stuff called? Where can I find them? Thanks. : :06:

Sold under several names. Tool Dip, Tool Handle Dip etc. Sorry I don't remeber the exact name, but it's real common.

Several colors available.

Be ready to spend some time coating your gloves. It's just plastisol, but it's thin enough to paint with.

Plan on dipping and draining, it's like making a candle.


Good Luck.


Tobin

[Iruka]

I played a joke on a friend of mine, a Japanese girl by the name of "Naho." She'd painted her name on the bottom of her black fins, but I used some electrical tape to cover up the "N." So she dove as "aho," which means "stupid" in Japanese. I told her after the dive, though....don't want to be TOO mean!

[Mike Newman]

Anyone else paint the bottom of their fins?

It occurred to me some time ago to make it easier for students and dive buddies to recognise and follow me. I found some Orange Day Glo duct tape in a hunting store and put streaks of that on the bottom of the fins. It works a treat by day. Now I need to find some reflective stuff for night time.

[OBXDIVEGUY]

Good idea. My neoprene gloves shows much damage after its second season. What is the dip stuff called? Where can I find them? Thanks. : :06:

I use the Tool Dip brand from Ace hardware. I'm pretty sure you can find it in Wal-Mart or something like that too.

That brand is nice and thick, so one coat is really enough. When you do it though, put the glove on your hand, because as the goop dries, it will take the shape of what ever it is coating. Dip your fingers one at a time, and blow on them to dry them a bit. Then, carefully take the glove off, and hang it to dry.

I do the whole finger up to the second knuckle, and then just the palm side of the rest of the fingers. That keeps some of the mobility. I wouldn't do the palm, since it may make it difficult to close your hand.

[OBXDIVEGUY]

It occurred to me some time ago to make it easier for students and dive buddies to recognise and follow me. I found some Orange Day Glo duct tape in a hunting store and put streaks of that on the bottom of the fins. It works a treat by day. Now I need to find some reflective stuff for night time.

I've seen some cool glow in the dark duct tape that might work! I don't remember where, but I bet that would be neat on the underside of your fins.

[lairdb]

I've seen some cool glow in the dark duct tape that might work! I don't remember where, but I bet that would be neat on the underside of your fins.

In my misspent youth working tech in legit theater, I had occasion to use a great deal of glowtape. (Once eliciting a wisecrack from a stage manager that my stage looked like "nighttime at O'Hare". (I turned out to be right, though -- while he could see it from the control deck, it couldn't be seen at all from the seats.))

Even the best of it isn't very glow-y. It would be cool the first few seconds after you zapped it with a light, but would quickly fade to and insignificant greenish white. (The stickum is also terrible; you'd have to try Seal Cement or some such to keep it on.)

In reasonable viz, I have seen ordinary yellow "puffy paint" appear fairly effective (most memorably on the bottom of the fins of a guide who had "follow" on the left fin and "me" on the right.)

One I've been thinking of, but haven't tried yet, would be some strips of the SOLAS-grade reflective tape. No active emission, but highly reflective, to pick up any available light, especially a searching flashlight.

[cool_hardware52]

In my misspent youth working tech in legit theater, I had occasion to use a great deal of glowtape. (Once eliciting a wisecrack from a stage manager that my stage looked like "nighttime at O'Hare". (I turned out to be right, though -- while he could see it from the control deck, it couldn't be seen at all from the seats.))

Even the best of it isn't very glow-y. It would be cool the first few seconds after you zapped it with a light, but would quickly fade to and insignificant greenish white. (The stickum is also terrible; you'd have to try Seal Cement or some such to keep it on.)

In reasonable viz, I have seen ordinary yellow "puffy paint" appear fairly effective (most memorably on the bottom of the fins of a guide who had "follow" on the left fin and "me" on the right.)

One I've been thinking of, but haven't tried yet, would be some strips of the SOLAS-grade reflective tape. No active emission, but highly reflective, to pick up any available light, especially a searching flashlight.

Laird,

Any of the reflective materials with exposed glass beads, whinch includes most tapes and sewn goods wont reflect at all when wet.

The SOLAS tapes will work when wet as they are glass beads with a plastic outer cover. The plastic cover greatly reduces the reflectivity, (~25% of the uncoated materials) but it does work OK. The real problem with SOLAS is the air space between the glass beads and the plastic cover will eventually flood at depth.

The SOLAS products are really for life jackets that may get wet, but are submerged to any real depth.


Regards,



Tobin

[lairdb]

Any of the reflective materials with exposed glass beads, whinch includes most tapes and sewn goods wont reflect at all when wet.

The SOLAS tapes will work when wet as they are glass beads with a plastic outer cover. The plastic cover greatly reduces the reflectivity, (~25% of the uncoated materials) but it does work OK. The real problem with SOLAS is the air space between the glass beads and the plastic cover will eventually flood at depth.

Hey, Tobin. Re. the exposed bead materials (which also includes all the paints) that's what I figured and why I suggested SOLAS-grade product.

Do you have a sense for what "eventually" is with good, cell-encapsulated stuff like the 3M product? If it's good for a few hundred 4-ATM events, that's probably good enough.

It's probably worth pointing out to anyone else reading along that this stuff is all "retro-reflective", not omni-reflective -- light will be reflected back quite specifically toward where it came from. In situations of general light, they should be fairly brightish; in situations of directed light (e.g. a searching flashlight beam) you'll get much light straight back.

[cool_hardware52]

Hey, Tobin. Re. the exposed bead materials (which also includes all the paints) that's what I figured and why I suggested SOLAS-grade product.

Do you have a sense for what "eventually" is with good, cell-encapsulated stuff like the 3M product? If it's good for a few hundred 4-ATM events, that's probably good enough.

It's probably worth pointing out to anyone else reading along that this stuff is all "retro-reflective", not omni-reflective -- light will be reflected back quite specifically toward where it came from. In situations of general light, they should be fairly brightish; in situations of directed light (e.g. a searching flashlight beam) you'll get much light straight back.


Laird,

I haven't conducted well documented and controlled studies of the SOLAS materials, just got a couple samples from 3M and stitched them down on a piece of nylon and went diving.

The SOLAS material I had is retroreflective with a what appears to be a thin layer of transparent vinyl sealed to it in a hunny-comb pattern that leaves "cells"

After a single dive to ~90fsw water all the "cut" cells and all the cells that had stitches through them, had as you might expect, flooded.

After a couple more dives the cells adjacent to the cut cells had condensation in them.

After a couple more dives the "uncut" cells that first had condensation now had flooded and more cells showed condesation.

I abandoned the test at this point.

I can't say what would happen after a 100 dives, but after ~6 the results were not encouraging.


I haven't tested it yet, but my next effort would be white paint for underwater identification. I'd like to compare that to other colors.

Regards,



Tobin

[lairdb]

I haven't conducted well documented and controlled studies of the SOLAS materials, just got a couple samples from 3M and stitched them down on a piece of nylon and went diving.

The SOLAS material I had is retroreflective with a what appears to be a thin layer of transparent vinyl sealed to it in a hunny-comb pattern that leaves "cells"

After a single dive to ~90fsw water all the "cut" cells and all the cells that had stitches through them, had as you might expect, flooded.

After a couple more dives the cells adjacent to the cut cells had condensation in them.

After a couple more dives the "uncut" cells that first had condensation now had flooded and more cells showed condesation.

I abandoned the test at this point.

I can't say what would happen after a 100 dives, but after ~6 the results were not encouraging.



That's controlled enough for our purposes -- bummer. I would have expected the cut and punctured cells, but not the uncuts. OK, next idea....

[^*^BATMAN^*^]

would it be possible to get that goop stuff(cheap wetsuit repair stuff) to seal the edges and anywere taht there was stiching in them to see if it stops or slows the efects??

[SCUBAMedicBill]

I wear two different color fins, one blue and one yellow. It's ussually not to hard to find me.

I like Mydivelog's use of the Krylon Fusion pant. I may do some thing with that.

Obxdiveguy, does the tool dip make the fingures too hard where you lose the dexterity. I know we would use neoprene cement to coat the fingers of our gloves in order to make them more durable for seaching wrecks. But if we weren't careful, it would make the fingers too hard.

Bill

[OBXDIVEGUY]

Obxdiveguy, does the tool dip make the fingures too hard where you lose the dexterity. I know we would use neoprene cement to coat the fingers of our gloves in order to make them more durable for seaching wrecks. But if we weren't careful, it would make the fingers too hard.

Bill


It does toughen up the finger, so I just do the finger tips so I can still bend the knuckles. I use it for wreck diving in some harsh conditions and the dip really helps.

[SeanQ]

Wouldn't fish be attracted to the reflective tape and try to eat it?

[monster]

Anyone else paint the bottom of their fins?

Yup, I have a distinct tooth-like pattern and my name on the bottom of my jetfins. Done with acrylic, and since most of my dives are boat dives, I don't have to redo the paint job too often, probably once every couple hundred dives.

The markings make it easier to spot my fins, although it's not usually a problem where I dive because vis is pretty good year round. I also usually dive in brightly-colored shorts and a rash guard, so telling my jetfins apart from other dive leaders' jetfins (they're popular) isn't a big deal either. :) Helps maybe at night, though I really mark my fins just for fun, and for personal identification.

Am wondering -- would you know if there's a generic name for this Fusion spray paint? Just in case I can't find Krylon here in the Philippines. Thanks.

[monster]

Am wondering -- would you know if there's a generic name for this Fusion spray paint? Just in case I can't find Krylon here in the Philippines. Thanks.

I did manage to find Krylon Fusion, but the guy at the hardware store said it might not do too well if the surface being painted flexes a lot; he recommended rubberized paints, like the ones used to mark the lines on a basketball court.

So I have to ask -- how does the Fusion hold up on your fins? Do you have to re-spray every now and then? Your Apollo BioFins are rubber, too, right, MyDiveLog? They don't make them in graphite, unlike the TwinJets right?

[reefraff]

For lettering: Sanford Uni-Paint markers. The paint will eventually wear off but remains readable for a long time - I easily get a full season (100+ dives) of mostly boat diving before I touch up the paint during the winter months. Shore divers or those who walk around in their fins might need to touch them up sooner.
http://www.officeworld.com/search_results/static/S102426/

For painting: Rubberize-It rubberized plastic coating. A single coat will provide opaque coverage and is still thin enough that you can flex your fingers. Multiple coats will last a long, long time but makes things stiff.
http://www.homaxproducts.com/catalog/rubberizeit.html

Remember, altering the flexibility of your fins will effect their efficiency in the water - it may look cool having a dolphin painted on them but it won't make you swim like one. ;)

[jkennedy]

Anything you paint requires maintainence. Scuba Pro makes the fins in color. My wife has the "electric yellow" Scuba Pro Twin Jets and I follow her on night dives..........

[spyder]

The rubberize suggestions are good ones and got me to thinking. To make the application a little easier/cleaner, how about using a latex surgical glove?

1) put on the latex glove
2) put on the dive glove
3) take out hand and blow the surgical glove up with air

This would allow for dipping or painting easily and keep the glove expanded while drying. Probably a potential solution for a non-existent problem but you know how the mind starts turning...

[Mr. X]

I like the idea of yellow for dive kit, as it makes it easier to see. However, don't surfers refer to yellow (as in wetsuits) as "yummy yellow" -- because it attracts sharks?!

[Checking out marking material myself, in the UK at least, reflective material is VERY EXPENSIVE & hard to buy is non-tiny, non-huge quantities. Dayglo (strontium aliminate) is cheaper -- but I think somebody mentioned that its no much good.]

[Sideband]

What would surfers know? They haven't even figured out that all the fun is 30' straight down. Besides, I think the common thought now is it is the silhouette of them on their board looks a lot like a seal or sealion from below. Unless they are off their board and swimming the color of their suit isn't even visible in the water. That's my take anyway.

Joe

[MyDiveLog]

The paint seems to be holding up quite well...the surface cracked a bit, but all of the paint has stayed on after about 80 dives. The Biofins are rubber. I used the "paint pen" sold in a local dive shop for two other pair of fins and that paint has just about worn off after 25 or so dives.

I also saw some reflective tape circles in the "outdoor gear" section of Sports Chalet. The circles have remained stuck to the bottom of the bio fins very nicely. They fell off a pair of relatively new ScubaPro jet fins; I think, being new, they still had a lot of oil in the material used to make the fins (rubber?), despite me washing them with paint remover prior to applying the stickers.

I did manage to find Krylon Fusion, but the guy at the hardware store said it might not do too well if the surface being painted flexes a lot; he recommended rubberized paints, like the ones used to mark the lines on a basketball court.

So I have to ask -- how does the Fusion hold up on your fins? Do you have to re-spray every now and then? Your Apollo BioFins are rubber, too, right, MyDiveLog? They don't make them in graphite, unlike the TwinJets right?

[akscubainst]

Got fed up with my wife renting my fins out thinking they were rentals (couldn'thave had anything to do with my habit of throwing them in the pile). Anyway just grabbed red Krylon off the shelf and went at it, no pattern just sprayed red paint on the bottoms. Black TwinJets, that was 3 years ago and it's mostly worn off but you can still see it in the cracks and grooves.

Dave

[slingshot]

Following on to SeanQ's comment: I thought about slapping some SOLAS tape onto my fin tips, but in the murky waters here in northern California, the flashing of reflected light from my fins might look like the thrashing of some wounded fish, particularly to those really big fish with pointy teeth that frequent the waters hereabout. ;)

[Mr. X]

Has anyone tried Acrylic art paints? They seem to be quite tough & cheap -- not sure how well they flex though. How about regular Latex house paint?

[SteveFass]

What's wrong with using just a silver Sharpie? I bought some over the weekend - haven't tried it yet - did I waste my money? My fins are the black rubber Appollos. Mainly got it to write my name on the inside for ID purposes, but thought of doing a pattern on the bottom to increase their coolness factor.

[hex92]

The silver sharpie will work alright on harder plastics. It looks good on my dive light, and my computer, but it didn't do well on my Jet Fins. I had to use a white paint pen for those.

What's wrong with using just a silver Sharpie? I bought some over the weekend - haven't tried it yet - did I waste my money? My fins are the black rubber Appollos. Mainly got it to write my name on the inside for ID purposes, but thought of doing a pattern on the bottom to increase their coolness factor.

[mrkrag]

I used to work in a sign shop and we always had rolls of DOT grade reflective vinyl around for making road signs. It is a continuous form, not honeycombed like the SOLAS stuff someone else had mentioned. So either it wont delaminate at depth, or the whole sheet will peel apart, dont know, havent tried it.

If you want something reflective, look in the yellow pages under 'signs' and you should find about a million or so sign shops within a block of your house. Just ask them if they have any cut scraps or offer to buy a square foot of it off the roll.

I am inclined to agree with slingshot however that the bright flashes may create more attention in the water than you want. Ever seen a 'cuda chase a dropped dive knife? I dive freshwater here in florida and have been discouraged from marking fins/gloves in white by others calling it 'gator bait'.

[jefe]

Hey there-

new to the board. nice idea about the tool coating. Off of Anacapa on my first night dive I lost my nice new (expensive)light. I had just shut it off as I was about to climb aboard. It caught on the bottom of the swim step an the lanyard brok from my wrist. :banghead: Someone went down but nothing. Since then, I've put small 1" wide strips of reflective tape on any gear (black reflective on my fins)that my part from my immediate being . Picked up from galls.com. It's emergency services supply place. Have never had poblems with the underwater natives. ;)

[JustinW]

I know this thread is old, but it was revived for some reason. I know people have various reasons for wanting to paint their fins, but if the idea is for identification, why not just use colored zip ties on parts of your fins. This works particularly well with Jet fins or other fins with vents as the zip tie can be wrapped around the vent, or could be wrapped around the strap or buckle also if nothing else will work. Zip Ties won't go anywhere if secured snugly.

[Mr. X]

... in the UK at least, reflective material is VERY EXPENSIVE & hard to buy is non-tiny, non-huge quantities. Dayglo (strontium aliminate) is cheaper -- but I think somebody mentioned that its no much good.]

I ended up getting a relatively large quantity of reflective white reflective tape off ebay (from a sign writer that had been to a trailer company's bankrupcy sale in Scandinavia!). I marked up all my gear will it. It looks ok.

Also, it works -- I dropped my dive knife (again!) while removing the spear from a speared fish but quickly located it on a nearby reef -- the band of reflective tape around the handle made the hard-to-see black and grey knife standout clearly. I also
dropped my clear snorkel as I entered the water, at first I thought I had forgotten it but decided to feel around -- the 2"' of white tape I added to the tip help locate it -- but a different colour and larger marked area would have help [BTW my next snorkel will not be clear (will prob. go for black) and will not have a valve (unreliable, waste of time) but will have an orange tip (much safer & easier to see) and (preferrably) a 2 slash semi-dry top (a simple improvement that does seem to work without hinderance)].

The tape held well except for my old black fins, on which I used a lot of tape.
I added diagonal stripes to the fins and solid blocks around the heels and squares inside and under foot. They looked rather cool. However, after a week solid of spearfishing from beaches & on reefs, about a quarter of the tape has now come off or is peeling off the fins -- which is a tatty. However, most is still on. I have just bought some new fins (a surprise find, a nice pair of Speedo fins from JJ Sports a UK chain store -- quite large, sleek, full foot pocket (ideal for snorkelling), blue & black plastic/rudder and in a decent nice mesh bag and at 14.99 GBP a v. good price by UK standards) and plan to mark those up, as I still have a lot of reflective tape left ... probably just a few large blocks or stripes (to maximize hold), as smaller pieces come off easiest.