In a previous post, I asked about renaming a boat. Yesterday, I tried to remove the "shadows" left by the old boat letters. This boat has had several owners and apparently the previous owner didn't like the old name. When we bought it, there was just a faded, light blue hue where the letters used to be. The boat's hull is white. After trying rubbing compound, 600-grit wet/dry sandpaper and Softscrub, I only managed to smear the letter "S" into a light blue blob. Is it possible that I have removed the white gelcoat surrounding the letter and the light blue material is actually the true color of the boat? I don't think that's the case, but it's the only explanation I have for the smearing. Unless, the letters were painted instead of vinyl. Shouldn't the gelcoat behind the letters be lighter than the surrounding gelcoat? Any tips would help. Thanks.
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Photo?
Can you get a photo of the problem area? I've been in the sign business for quite a while and have never heard of vinyl lettering pulling off gelcoat. Also, it's pretty obvious weather you're dealing with paint or vinyl. If you can peel up pieces of the lettering, it's vinyl. You shouldn't be able to peel up paint. Are you sure you're not smearing the adhesive left behind from the vinyl? A good adhesive remover (3M or Goo Gone) will take this off easier than sandpaper or Softscrub.
Can you get a photo of the problem area? I've been in the sign business for quite a while and have never heard of vinyl lettering pulling off gelcoat. Also, it's pretty obvious weather you're dealing with paint or vinyl. If you can peel up pieces of the lettering, it's vinyl. You shouldn't be able to peel up paint. Are you sure you're not smearing the adhesive left behind from the vinyl? A good adhesive remover (3M or Goo Gone) will take this off easier than sandpaper or Softscrub.
EZ Off ...
try the oven cleaner. Many people recommend this for removing painted lettering. I used it on mine and it worked well. It removed the paint but the gel coat still shows a shadow of the old name. Actually, even more faint is the shadow of the name before that! I doubt there is any chance you sanded thru the gel coat.
try the oven cleaner. Many people recommend this for removing painted lettering. I used it on mine and it worked well. It removed the paint but the gel coat still shows a shadow of the old name. Actually, even more faint is the shadow of the name before that! I doubt there is any chance you sanded thru the gel coat.
Mike
It sounds like your letters are painted on; vinyl letters will peel off, not dissolve into a blob. To answer your specific question, the space under the old letters will be DARKER, not lighter than the surrounding area. Remember, the sun hasn't been able to bleach out the area under the letters. The problem with trying to erase the old name is that it is impossible to target just the "raised" area where the old letters were; you always wind up sanding or compounding the area around it too. You may eventually be successful in sanding out all traces of the old lettering; however you will do so by making the old letter area the same shade as the surrounding area. In effect, you will have made the whole area where the letters were a new shade that is now different from the rest of the boat. On some boats, this will be less noticeable than others. On my boat, I decided to stop compounding out the old letter shadows before the shading became too different from the rest of the boat, and I let the sun do its thing. After only one season, you have to be within two or three feet of the transom to see the shadows of the old letters, and that's only because the old letter area is still "raised" above the rest of the transom. The color difference is virtually gone at this point.
It sounds like your letters are painted on; vinyl letters will peel off, not dissolve into a blob. To answer your specific question, the space under the old letters will be DARKER, not lighter than the surrounding area. Remember, the sun hasn't been able to bleach out the area under the letters. The problem with trying to erase the old name is that it is impossible to target just the "raised" area where the old letters were; you always wind up sanding or compounding the area around it too. You may eventually be successful in sanding out all traces of the old lettering; however you will do so by making the old letter area the same shade as the surrounding area. In effect, you will have made the whole area where the letters were a new shade that is now different from the rest of the boat. On some boats, this will be less noticeable than others. On my boat, I decided to stop compounding out the old letter shadows before the shading became too different from the rest of the boat, and I let the sun do its thing. After only one season, you have to be within two or three feet of the transom to see the shadows of the old letters, and that's only because the old letter area is still "raised" above the rest of the transom. The color difference is virtually gone at this point.
Keep at it.
Hi Mike, I responded to your previous post about renaming a boat. The name on my boat was a major problem to remove, which is why I have no qualms about not having a renaming ceremony. My letters were vinyl with painted highlights. The vinyl was brittle and baked into the gelcoat, the paint was the same. I used a heat gun and a razor blade scraper on the vinyl, then 400 grit and 600 grit wet/dry on the paint. The paint smeared like you noted, but after a while it all came off. I was very careful to keep the sandpaper on just the letters so I didn't remove too much gelcoat. And I was very careful with the scraper not to gouge the gelcoat. After I got everything off, I used the 600 grit on the rest of the stern to even it out. It was badly oxidized and the 600 grt polished it up nicely without removing the gelcoat. It came out pretty good.
Hi Mike, I responded to your previous post about renaming a boat. The name on my boat was a major problem to remove, which is why I have no qualms about not having a renaming ceremony. My letters were vinyl with painted highlights. The vinyl was brittle and baked into the gelcoat, the paint was the same. I used a heat gun and a razor blade scraper on the vinyl, then 400 grit and 600 grit wet/dry on the paint. The paint smeared like you noted, but after a while it all came off. I was very careful to keep the sandpaper on just the letters so I didn't remove too much gelcoat. And I was very careful with the scraper not to gouge the gelcoat. After I got everything off, I used the 600 grit on the rest of the stern to even it out. It was badly oxidized and the 600 grt polished it up nicely without removing the gelcoat. It came out pretty good.
Don't give up on cleaners just yet
I recently PoliGlowed my boat. There were shadows of the old name on the transom, but they came off with PoliPrep - the (really aggressive) cleaner that comes with PoliGlow. So I suggest trying a bunch of cleaners before you sand or scrape. Perhaps you might try Zud, which I've seen recommended as even stronger than PoliPrep.
I recently PoliGlowed my boat. There were shadows of the old name on the transom, but they came off with PoliPrep - the (really aggressive) cleaner that comes with PoliGlow. So I suggest trying a bunch of cleaners before you sand or scrape. Perhaps you might try Zud, which I've seen recommended as even stronger than PoliPrep.
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