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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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How to take a name off a boat?

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Alan Clark
Captain

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406 Posts

Initially Posted - 03/08/2013 : 13:56:08

Any Idea of what to use to take a name off a boat- product wise without hireing it done? Hull is white Name and graphic are blue.
I believe they are not paint, I would want to restore the sheen of the hull in the spot the graphics are now and put a new name on.
Suggestions are always welcome. Thanks,

Alan & Eileen
2001 Catalina 310 Hull #155
"Anam Cara"
ex-1987 C25 TR/SK #5612
"LEPRECHAUN"
Troy Ohio USA / Lake Erie-Catawba Island
ASA 101 103 104

"The clink of an anchor - chain, the 'Yo-Ho!' of a well time crew, the flapping of huge sails - I love all these sounds."

John 'Rob Roy' MacGregor

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 03/08/2013 : 14:14:58

I've used heat to remove registration and lettering stickers from the hull followed by Goof Off to remove the adhesive.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC6ccwY2b2k"]How To Remove Old Boat Graphics - BoatUS Graphics & Lettering[/url]

Edited by - on

CarbonSink62
Navigator

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USA
208 Posts

Response Posted - 03/08/2013 : 14:49:21

I used a heat gun and a plastic scraper.

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islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4029 Posts

Response Posted - 03/08/2013 : 18:27:12

If they are vinyl a heat gun or hair dryer will soften the letters enough to peel them off. You probably will still have a ghost image on the hull that will fade some over time.

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Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 03/08/2013 : 21:57:59

Heat gun (low, ahead of where you're working), plastic scraper, Solent scrub to get all the adhesive. The ghost on Pearl was almost completely gone by the end of the first summer.

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Alan Clark
Captain

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406 Posts

Response Posted - 03/09/2013 : 08:28:36

The reason I ask is because we are in the process of buying a newer boat..We are sad to leave our "family" of Catalina 25 owners..
It is Not done completely yet-Survey and sea trial are next week but our offer has been accepted. So if everything goes as expected...
Our potential new (to Us) is a one owner Catalina 310.. being sold by a family that are getting on in years and going out of sailing with no interest by their kids. We are excited to be able to move up and feel it is time on many levels. we have had "Leprechaun" 10 years and are only the 3rd owner and we just got done with Lots of Updates as we were not intending on moving up until my wife saw this boat. In fact sails are not back from the sailmaker for the annual go-over yet. We just had new foam and batting installed in our cushions-never been used. But.. anyway we will keep you updated and will check back on a regular basis.

Edited by - Alan Clark on 03/09/2013 08:30:03

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4316 Posts

Response Posted - 03/09/2013 : 08:53:32

Just make sure you don't hold the heat gun in the same spot too long or you will damage the gelcoat.

I used a hair dryer and it got plenty hot enough to get the vinyl letters off. Heat them up and use a plastic scraper to get the corner started then just grab the vinyl with your fingers and slowly peel back the letters keeping your fingers very close to where the letter is pulling away from the gelcoat. If you get your fingers too from from the gelcoat the vinyl just tears and you have to start over with the scraper.

I used Goof-Off to get the sticky gum off after removing the letters. It works really good!

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AtEase
Deckhand

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23 Posts

Response Posted - 03/09/2013 : 18:19:32

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Dave5041
 ...Heat gun (low, ahead of where you're working), plastic scraper, Solent scrub to get all the adhesive...
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I used basically the same things...hair dryer, single edged razor blade and Goo Gone/Goof Off for the residue.

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shnool
Former Capri-25 Tech Editor

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USA
1032 Posts

Response Posted - 03/09/2013 : 19:38:07

I just used a razor scraper.

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 03/09/2013 : 20:17:40

We used a hair dryer, razor, and plastic scraper to get ours off. If you can get a corner going, pull the vinyl backwards so it's bent at 180 degrees or as close as you can get. I'm not sure why this seems to keep it from tearing or breaking but it does. Pull downward if you can, it's just easier to peel it back.

Up here in the PNW, we just don't get enough sun to burn out the ghost images, if you know where to look you can see both of the PO's boat names pretty easily. I don't let it bother me, if you're not purposely looking for it, you can't see it.

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shnool
Former Capri-25 Tech Editor

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USA
1032 Posts

Response Posted - 03/10/2013 : 04:38:46

Oh yeah, forgot about that... when I removed mine from my old boat... it left the areas unexposed as much different in color than the rest of the hull (gelcoat changes color - fades) in sunlight. That'll actually be the bigger problem.

You can smooth it out, using a wet-sand at 400+, I used 600+ grit, then compound/polish/wax.

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Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 03/11/2013 : 10:20:14

Our boat had strong 'ghosting' when we removed the old name. Removing the old name took maybe an hour, but removing the ghosting took much longer.

I opted to wetsand the hull in order to remove the ghosting. It took a lot of effort. a full weekend IIRC, but I think it looks good now. That was years ago so the memories (and aching muscles) are well faded. Wetsanding may be an option if you are on the hard, but I can't imagine doing it from a dinghy. If you do opt to wetsand be sure to reseal the hull (wax) afterwards since you have taken the glazing off the gelcoat, exposing it for water penetration.

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