I Am trying to remove several old stickers and decals from my fiberglass boat. Can someone give me some ideas on what works good to remove the adhesive but won't damage fiberglass and doesn't cost $30 a pint? Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.
urcowboy,<br />Kerosene will remove them pretty easily (Did I spell that right ???)and its cheap!<br />Soak them first as best you can, then scrape with a credit card or some other hard plastic device. A razor blade may damage the finish. They should come off pretty easily.<br /><br />Nav:
Try commercial paint store or hardwares for a product called "goop-off". Put some on a rag, hold on sticker, then peel off. Also good for getting tape stickum off windows (you know- when you get desparate and put up duct tape to "secure" windows for hurricanes).
At most automotive paint stores, 3M sells a product that looks like a giant gum eraser. You put it on a DA or drill and rub them off. Takes off the sticker, pin stripes, glue, whatever, and doesn't hurt the paint! No chemicals necessary.<br /><br />------------------<br />1985 Bayliner 1900 cuddy w/125 Force
A jigsaw with a fine-toothed blade can neatly excise not only the decals, but the fiberglass behind them too.<br /><br />More seriously, if you heat & peel the decals, I've found solvents unpleasant and not all that quick for removing the rest. I had best luck, suprisingly, with a rubbing compound (Meguiar's #44, which is just what I had around for rubbing out the gelcoat). The grit gets into the adhesive, and lets you rub it off without just pushing it around.
urcowboy, I just completed restoring a 82' 26 ft. Seary express, that had a lot of factory installed strips, etc. on it, they were in terrible condition, I tried one of those 3M erasers the gentleman suggested to you, they work great, remove all the strips, and the glue.
Sticker/glue problems????<br /><br />Try scraping off old sticker with a razor blade(heating up with hair dryer helps)<br />WD-40 will remove most adhesives,,,Or get some "citrus based" solvent or cleaner. they are made from citrus peels, environmentally friendly, work pretty well too. and leaves a nice scent too...
Citrus based solvents do a good job of removing the residue also... I used some stuff called "Orange Waterless"...it not only cleaned off the glue gunk...it also left my garage smelling like a giant orange grove for many weeks thereafter!<br /><br />Just my humble opinion here...but I'd really consider some other method of removing your stickers rather than using a razor blade. It's just too easy to scratch or gouge your gelcoat. I used a hair blow dryer to loosen the glue and the stickers peeled off very easily.<br /><br />Walt
this has been an awsome topic. everyone has run into this agony at one time or another. <br />I painted a mustang riddled with decals, several years ago. If I remember right, I used a spray bomb 3M made for removing automotive decals and pinstriping. I imagine it would work as good on boats. It was awsome at the time(spray on, wait, wipe off)<br />
I recently put new registration #'s on my Raycraft<br />V-156. I soaked the #'s with skin so soft from<br />Avon,after ten minutes I started scraping with a<br />razor blade. After about 5 mintes of this I hit<br />them with sss again. The #'s came right off. i hit<br />the area with some 409 and the rest of the glue<br />rolled right off. The guy at the sign shop told me<br />to use rubbing alcohol on a cotton cloth before I<br />put the new #'s on. After the alcohol evaporated<br />I put the #'s and they look great. All this took about 30 minutes.<br /><br />Dutch
I've been wondering about this problem as well. I have a pontoon which has been used in Veterans Day parades and has residue from tape still stuck to the aluminium hull. I'm glad I ran across this question and will give some of these solutions a try. Thanks.
