What did I do wrong and how do I fix it!

Oct 17, 2013
122
Catalina 22 Plymouth MA
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Trying to take the old registration numbers off. Scraped and pulled, left a glue residue. I used acetone and got this! There was some rust on the top of the acetone can, don't think I got any on my rag. What happened and more importantly, solutions? Thanks.
 
Jun 10, 2013
101
macgregor 22 Grand Lake, Oklahoma
Try some clean acetone...it has always worked for me on rust stains...you might have to lightly buff it out with a scotch bright pad or something then buff it back shiny with wax...good luck!
 
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
use the acetone when its cold outside... what happend is the glue started to dissolve but the acetone evaporated (flashed off) so fast that it left a smear as the glue set up again.... lacquer thinner will work in place of the acetone also, and you can get it in slow, medium, or fast flash. use the slow.....

goof off evaporates slower, but is also a bit slower to dissolve the glue.... just stand there and keep it wet with goof off for a few minutes to soften the glue, and then scrape it off with a plastic scraper..... BUT, check to make sure the plastic scraper you use is solvent resistant, or it will make a worse mess...
if you have a gentle, steady hand you can use a razor blade scraper... after removing the bulk of it by scraping, use the rag and more solvent to clean the residue off...
 
Last edited:
Sep 8, 2014
2,551
Catalina 22 Swing Keel San Diego
I saw this on Facebook also, CLR (Calcium Lime Rust) is good for the rust satin, just on a sponge will do the trick.
I know everyone keeps saying Acetone, but as Centerline pointed out it evaporates too fast. Acetone will work on adhesives, but I haven't found it to be as effective as the liquid Goof Off in the yellow can, about $6 at Home Depot. Goof Off is mostly acetone, but it also has same Xylene and MEK which is what makes it evaporate slower. Both Acetone and Goof Off are good for cleaning up general stains off interior gelcoat, and acetone is ideal for dewaxing gelcoat if you are going to paint. If you want to get rid of the 'shadows' left by the old numbers (after the adhesive is gone), wet sand with 600 grit and then buff it with polishing compound. If you are putting the exact same new numbers over the old ones you probably don't need to worry about it. Old number shadows and boat name shadows after sticks are removed will eventually fade in the sun also.
 
Oct 17, 2013
122
Catalina 22 Plymouth MA
Thanks to all....some WD 40 and Goo Gone did the trick. Should the NIH be testing WD 40 as a disease preventer? it seems to do everything else!
 

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,669
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
Thanks to all....some WD 40 and Goo Gone did the trick. Should the NIH be testing WD 40 as a disease preventer? it seems to do everything else!
It cures the toothache.
 
Sep 14, 2014
1,278
Catalina 22 Pensacola, Florida
Well you can remove crayon marks from painted drywall with wd 40 too.
 

pateco

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Aug 12, 2014
2,207
Hunter 31 (1983) Pompano Beach FL
This stuff works awesome. Much better than acetone or GooGone or GoofOff available at Wallmart or Autozone
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