Removal of varnish from gelcoat

[Florida sail]

The PO did a very nice job of varnishing the brightwork with Petit Captain. About 6 coats worth. The only problem is that he did not use masking tape and he slopped it all over the surrounding gelcoat. I would appeciate any ideas/ advice about the best way to remove the excess varnish without damaging the varnish on the teak

 

[RichH]

Razor blade held at a very shallow angle, followed by judicious use of caustic or 'environment friendly' paint remover. Caustic / environment friendly removers wont dissolve the gel as do solvent/MEK based removers. Follow up with rubbing compound.

example: http://www.soysolvents.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=S&Category_Code=PR

 

[CharlieCobra]

Laquer thinner. If applying varnish and YOU slop it on the glass, use Denatured Alcohol.

 

[Bill Roosa]

Your hunting knife. Use the tip and scrap gently like you where peeling an orange rind. It will just flake off once you get underneath it. Then use a 3M scratch pad to smooth out any scrapes.

 

[RON20406]

Go to Scraperite.com. It is a plastic razor blade that will not scratch your gelcoat. But, be careful as it is as sharp as a metal blade. Good luck and good sailing, Ron

 

[rpwillia]

West Marine has these

Go to Scraperite.com. It is a plastic razor blade that will not scratch your gelcoat. But, be careful as it is as sharp as a metal blade. Good luck and good sailing, Ron

2nd this. West Marina has them for about $5-6. Very useful.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Both Pettit and Interlux have paint and varnish removers formulated for gel coat. Do not use the Zip Strip and others found in hardware stores as they are too aggressive for gelcoat.