Anyone ever removed the shear stripes on a H31?

Reg M

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May 21, 2016
131
Hunter 31 Montague
The shear stripes on my 1984 H31 are cracking and deteriorating so I was thinking of removing them and either painting on new stripes or buying a couple of rolls of the stick-on striping. I am assuming that when Hunter built the boat they would have sprayed gelcoat into the whole mold, including the part where the shear stripe is, so if I just use one of those rubber wheels with a drill same as body shops use to remove striping I should be left with nice smooth gelcoat where the striping was. Has anybody else had any experience with removing the shear stripe? If so, how did you accomplish the task? Thanks for any input. Reg
 
Jun 8, 2004
2,841
Catalina 320 Dana Point
us 1.jpg
I've done a couple Catalinas, they're just vinyl tape for the cove stripe, boot stripes are in the gelcoat. I've used a heat gun and plastic putty knife to remove, if you get it just warm you can peel it off in pretty good sized pieces. There is also a rubber "Eraser Wheel" that can go in a drill, 3M and others make them for the automotive trade. After you get the tape off I usually use an adhesive remover to get all the glue off. Last time I took them off I decided I liked the boat without them so didn't replace. I'd already ordered the replacement tape if I ever change my mind.
 

Reg M

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May 21, 2016
131
Hunter 31 Montague
Thanks Ted, you confirmed exactly what I thought. How long did it take you to remove them? Nice looking boat.
 
Jun 8, 2004
2,841
Catalina 320 Dana Point
I'd guess 2 to 4 hours per side to get the tape and residual glue off depending on condition of the tape. If not too dried out it seems to peel off pretty clean, with a lot of cracks (south side of boat) it gets more difficult. I only tried the eraser for a few minutes because it was creating a lot of bright blue floating tape flecks that I knew the Harbor Patrol would want to tongue lash me about later. It also made quite an adhesive/melted tape mess that appeared like it would be more difficult to clean. However, I think the eraser wheel maybe better method for tape in really bad shape if you can control the fallout.
Oh, There is a "shadow" line left behind same as a name decal etc. which is real handy for lining up the new tape if you are replacing. Otherwise, after a while it fades enough to be unnoticed by a vision impaired man riding by on a fast horse.
 
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Jun 3, 2010
177
Hunter 27-3 Erie
same experience, rubber "pin stripe remover" wheel from a body shop supply worked OK, but is sensitive to RPM and caused quite a mess of melted glue and plastic. Was also $50. Professional vinyl application guy who is a close friend said "use a heat gun" so I bought a two-speed at Harbor Freight. Works like a champ on LOW, high is way too hot. I also picked up some plastic putty knifes at Lowe's. None of those places have anything to do with boats but their stuff worked OK.

You will need to have some kind of solvent to remove the last of the adhesive. Acetone works fine but evaporates really fast, lacquer thinner also works but evaporates pretty quick as well. I believe there is a relatively new chemical product that was specific to removing vinyl boat names but I have no experience with it.
 

Reg M

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May 21, 2016
131
Hunter 31 Montague
3M makes a spray adhesive remover which I have used a lot, it will take off almost any kind of adhesive (except 5200 which only a miracle will remove). I have the heat gun and the adhesive remover already but not sure if I'll do it this spring or wait till haulout in the fall. I'll get some of those plastic putty knives beforehand. Thanks for all the input guys.
 
Jul 11, 2016
18
Hunter 326 Oriental, NC
I used the 3M wheel to remove my old name decals and striping and the previous comments are correct. It worked but it took me about 30 minutes to figure out how to use it correctly. I was "burning" the old decal into the gelcoat leaving a mess of dust and glue spread over the boat. You have to use it on a lower RPM and don't press into the boat. If it just rubs the decal and you move away from the dust (with rotation of the wheel) you'll be fine. This one is $31.50 with Amazon Prime http://amzn.to/2qXH6zx

One wheel will easily last both sides of the boat. It took me about 6 hours to remove stripes and name off both sides of a H326.
 

pateco

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Aug 12, 2014
2,207
Hunter 31 (1983) Pompano Beach FL
I am going to be doing the same project on my 1983 H31. I did a test section at the dock to see how hard it would be to do once we haul out.
The vinyl is very cracked, but I think my blue stripe on mine is either paint or gelcoat.
2015-11-13 21.01.18.jpg

Heat gun and Plastic razor scraper took off the vinyl.
2015-11-13 21.21.58.jpg

A little TrutleWax bumper sticker remover took off the adhesive. (great product)
2015-11-13 21.33.46.jpg

Some light wet sanding and buffing began to bring back the blue color. I couldn't buff it well since she is still in the water , and I was hanging upside down over the rail. But I was just trying to get an Idea of how much work it was going to be.
2015-11-13 22.00.18.jpg


Major difference between the untouched section and where i did the work. This should turn out nice once it is complete.

2015-11-13 22.46.42.jpg

Now I need to decide if I am going to replace the vinyl stripe, or just have a white hunter logo made, and leave it solid blue.
 
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Jun 3, 2010
177
Hunter 27-3 Erie
That was a really nice photo history of the project, thanks for that. After reading through this thread again, I wanted to add something that I forgot about until looking at the above photos.

On our Island Packet, the waterline (boot) stripe was fading and was scratched in several places. Prior to the company being bought out, it was very easy to talk to the IP factory and get tips on maintaining the boat. I called and asked about the stripe, they told me it was added at the factory, painted on. They said that if I wanted to freshen it up I should use spray paint, specifically Krylon Fusion Gloss, which is made for plastic. When the weather warmed up in the spring I cleaned the painted surface with alcohol to get any wax residue from the previous year off, turning the clean cloth often. I picked a calm day and taped off the top and bottom of the stripe using a masking paper and good blue tape from Lowe's (no ties to the company). I bought three cans of Krylon Fusion paint and followed the application instructions on the can. I have to tell you that it turned out beautifully with a rich color and glossy shine. The key is that you have to apply multiple coats so it doesn't sag or run. I had a full can left over when the project was done.
 

Reg M

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May 21, 2016
131
Hunter 31 Montague
Pateco, are you saying that the gelcoat under the vinyl shear stripe is actually blue? I thought it would be white since it doesn't make sense for the builder to go to all the trouble of spraying in two colors in the mold only to cover the blue with blue tape. Am I missing something here? Nice job on the photos, its great when people record and post photos of their projects. Reg
 

pateco

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Aug 12, 2014
2,207
Hunter 31 (1983) Pompano Beach FL
Pateco, are you saying that the gelcoat under the vinyl shear stripe is actually blue? I thought it would be white since it doesn't make sense for the builder to go to all the trouble of spraying in two colors in the mold only to cover the blue with blue tape. Am I missing something here? Nice job on the photos, its great when people record and post photos of their projects. Reg
Reg M,

I am not sure if it is Gelcoat or paint, but it is not vinyl on my particular boat. Maybe PO painted it at some point in the boats unknown history. The only part that was vinyl tape on mine was the white with the thin navy blue and silver/gray stripes. You can see the cracks in it below



Do you have a picture of what your stripe looks like?
 
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Reg M

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May 21, 2016
131
Hunter 31 Montague
I'm not sure what the deal is on mine. The PO painted the dark blue stripes but I don't know if there was tape there first before he painted. It looks to be the case as you can see verticle cracks in the blue stripes. If I knew for sure there was white gelcoat under all that mess I could go ahead and sand off the paint then remove the tape. At least on your boat the blue look like its in nice shape. Mine was done with a brush.
IMG_0095.JPG
IMG_0094.JPG
 
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Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
Hunter used gelcote on both the wht hull and both blue boot strips,
I believe that the blue gelcote was called bikini blue. They then used a 2 inch wht strip the the other three strips on top. All colors are still available thru universal products if you want the original factory look.
I had my hull done with awalgrip and the yard removed the old strips and I believe that they used a heat gun.
The blue strips most likely can be compounded back to original with some elbow grease.
 
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pateco

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Aug 12, 2014
2,207
Hunter 31 (1983) Pompano Beach FL
I'm not sure what the deal is on mine. The PO painted the dark blue stripes but I don't know if there was tape there first before he painted. It looks to be the case as you can see verticle cracks in the blue stripes. If I knew for sure there was white gelcoat under all that mess I could go ahead and sand off the paint then remove the tape. At least on your boat the blue look like its in nice shape. Mine was done with a brush.View attachment 136455 View attachment 136456
I think your PO painted over the fadded Gelcoat instead of polishing. if you use chemical stripper you may be able to get back to the bikini blue gelcoat for polishing.
 

Reg M

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May 21, 2016
131
Hunter 31 Montague
I haven't heard the term "chemical stripper" before, can you tell me a bit more about it? I take it that it is not just a normal paint stripper.
 

pateco

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Aug 12, 2014
2,207
Hunter 31 (1983) Pompano Beach FL
I haven't heard the term "chemical stripper" before, can you tell me a bit more about it? I take it that it is not just a normal paint stripper.
NO, just regular paint stripper should hopefully remove the paint while leaving the gelcoat. Look for one that says it is safe for use on fiberglass. Like this one.
KLEEN STRIP.gif


Aircraft® Fiberglass Paint Remover
 

pateco

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Aug 12, 2014
2,207
Hunter 31 (1983) Pompano Beach FL
When I finish removing the old vinyl and buffing the blue paint/gel-coat, I dont think I am going to replace the vinyl with the original design. I am thinking of just doing a single white stripe with the logo inserted like this.
hunter 31 logo stripe2.jpg

What do you think?
 
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Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
Using a wall paper steamer works well. I have also used the "eraser" but it took a lot more time.
 
Oct 19, 2006
337
Hunter 27-3 Brownsville, VT/Mystic, CT
For what it's worth, to remove the old decals from our new-to-us '07 H27-3 this spring, I used a hair dryer to warm the vinyl. I don't have a heat gun. It was a great help.

I wish I'd used some kind of glue remover mentioned in this thread afterward, but I just rubbed it out with the 3M cleaner/polish stuff.