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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 250 Specific Forum

removing boat lettering

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reuben
Navigator

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USA
202 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/25/2004 : 10:33:44

We're taking delivery of a 2000 WK thursday, and I'm looking for tips on how to remove the old boat name. It's your standard decal lettering; I want to get it off, but don't want to damage the gelcoat. What's your experience?

Reuben
C-250 WK #499
Bayfield, WI

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 04/25/2004 : 11:04:52

From SailNet...

<b>VINYL STRIPING </b>

Vinyl striping tapes available in the SailNet Store are manufactured by AVERY. They are high performance 2mm vinyl with an acrylic self-adhesive on the back of the tape. They are manufactured for the boating industry and any other outdoor use. They will not crack or peel, even in salt water, and are color-fast for 5-7 years without fading. There is no special maintenance needed. They can be waxed or polished at the same time the rest of the boat surface is done. They are pliable and can be bent to match the curve of the of your boat. Should you decide to change the canvas color of your boat and you want the stripes to match, simply heat the vinyl and remove. There is no sanding needed which would ruin the boats finish. Any excessive adhesive left on the gel coat can be removed with acetone. (Be careful with acetone as it is not recommended on painted surfaces and will cause damage.) Denatured Alcohol is usually delicate enough to use on a painted surface, but should be tested in an inconspicuous area first.

<b>VINYL LETTERING REMOVAL </b>

If you are re-naming your boat or replacing existing vinyl lettering, the first task will be removing the vinyl lettering that is currently on the boat. Different vinyls remove easier than other, some vinyls get baked on by the sun making them very hard to remove. The basic technique is to push a squeegee (or other flat tool) against the edge of the graphics to lift corner. Once the corner is lifted, slowly peel the vinyl up. If you go too fast then some glue will remain or the vinyl can break. A good way to prevent breaking is to heat up the vinyl. Sometimes just having the boat with the lettering/graphics in the sun will heat up the lettering/graphics enough. Other times you will have to use something like a Hair Dryer or a Heat Gun (caution is required to not damage the boat's surface). This heating will help the vinyl stretch instead of breaking. If glue is left on the boat then you must use acetone or denatured alcohol to remove it. (Be careful with acetone as it is not recommended on painted surfaces and can cause damage). Denatured Alcohol is usually delicate enough to use on a painted surface, but should be tested in an inconspicuous area first. Then you can squeegee the glue off. If there is a "ghost" of a name still on the surface, you may want to buff it out.

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Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3321 Posts

Response Posted - 04/25/2004 : 18:40:19

Reuben - marinas & boatyards use a device that fits in an electric drill. It's multi layers of heavy paper-like material and it "buffs" decals off the hull very easily and leaves a polished surface. The name on "TSU" is 58" wide by 12" high, and this gizmo took less than 5 mins a side to remove completely.
Derek

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bear
Admiral

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USA
909 Posts

Response Posted - 04/26/2004 : 07:22:15

Reuben, When I purchased "Brandy" a little less than 3 years ago my wife paid for a complete re-striping, name change and other cosmetic improvements. The young girl who did the detailing told me I could save 35% of the bill by removing all the old lettering etc myself. So I used a hair dryer on everything and encountered no really hard
removal problems. "Bear" on Brandy, splash next Sunday

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jeanetcarole
Deckhand

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Canada
17 Posts

Response Posted - 04/26/2004 : 20:08:51

WD40 is perfect, i just did mine following the advice of a fiberglass and boat repair fellow.

Jean

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Raskal
Navigator

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USA
162 Posts

Response Posted - 04/30/2004 : 18:31:53

The chandleries like Boater's World sell little black squeeze bottles of stuff called "letter off". It's very gentle, seems to work a lot like "Goo Gone" only formulated for this specific application, and I've found it to work well. Peel off the letters by hand or carefully with a razor blade and dab it onto the glue spots. Let them sit for 15 minutes and gently rub in circles with an old rag. Keep adding more until you're satisfied with how much you've gotten off.

Rich Kokoska

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.