I recently purchased a Nacra 5.0 and i want to remove the old vinyl decals that are on the side of the boat because they are old and flaking off. Anyone have any ideas on how to get the stickers off without hurting the hulls.

If you take the hairblower of your wife/girlfriend and a good sharp knife then this will do the job. First make with the blower the sticker soft and then slide the knife under the sticker. You can peel it of easy than.

Regards,
Hans

Hair dryer with plastic scraper then some sort of solvent to take off goo that is left[I use a UPVC window cleaning solvent, petrol would do]

Yes, plastic scraper with a hair dryer. I've used acetone as solvent. It evaporates quickly, so you gotta be quick with it.

D. Ho
TheMightyHobie18 1067

So none of these chemicals will hurt the hulls/Gelcoat? I had read on another forum that a guy who tried goof-off and a scraper had problems with dis-coloration where the goof off had soaked in. I have used the scraper goof-off, acetone, etc method on cars but never on Boats. From my experience with cars the heat gun helps out alot.

I've had very good results with Oops!.

TurboCat, just did my 5.5 Uni..same task..hairdryer, razor knife and acetone. Heated the decal while peeling off at the same time. Afterwards, a good wash to remove residue. Replaced with the newest style Nacra decal and it looks great!

Sail fast, Tom G

A belt sander wit 120 will make quick work of any sticker...or gel coat....or fiberglass...and foam, stringers etc....

3m makes an adhesive remover to get the go off after you have removed the stickers part and it works well.

really, after you remove the sticker, the gel coat below will be different than the other that had been exposed to UV Rays. The shadow will still be there.(?) Perhaps I am over thinking the situation....

Pick and scrape then wipe of the residue with acetone. Actually pretty easy and doesn't hurt the gelcoat.

I recently removed the old decals from my Nacra 5.2. After using a razor scraper to remove the decal, I was left with the old glue underneath. After several attempts with various glue removers I had no luck. I then tried OFF mosquito spray. It worked great!!! I just sprayed it on and immediately scraped the glue off with a razor scraper and wiped off with a paper towel. After the decals was removed, I washed the boat with soap and water. OFF mosquito spray also removes permanant ink marker(can you say Sharpie?).They don't call this stuff OFF for nothing! And just think, we spray this stuff on our bare skin. I wonder if it works on tatoo's? hum....

This stuff works better than goof off, acetone or other solvents I've used.

If its a really old decal then be patient - this is going to take you some time as they tend to become very brittle and only come off a little at a time.

If you are using a version of OFF that removes glue be real careful around things like sunglasses and watches.


In general the active ingredient in OFF, DET, is a powerful solvent that will dissolve, among other things, polyester (gelcoat, sails, your Speedo, etc). Generally there is not enough of it to do any real damage but when you use high concentrations and add things to slow the evaporation you can start doing some damage.


I don't have enough proof to start a lawsuit but I destroyed a pair of sunglasses and 2 watches started leaking after I switched to Sports OFF. No problems since I switched back to SkinTastic.

DEET--also causes seizures, so be careful <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

I tried using Nitromorse paint stripper once - not clever. Whole section of the hull went jelly-like.

I recently had to remove some relatively fresh sticker glue. Goo Gone did very little to it and I didn't have any acetone on hand, so I tried something called "Color Restore". It's a cleaner/wax/polishing compound combination that is made for brightening up oxidized gelcoat. Made quick work of removing the glue.

DET and DEET are different animals...(but often confused)

DEET mosquito repellent has been used safely for 60 years, sparing millions of users from mosquito bites and mosquito-borne diseases (rare in the USA but not elsewhere). If you have a 12 month old child that weighs 20 pounds, do not put a whole, large bottle of pure DEET on him or her: that is how it causes seizures and/or death (unfortunately this has actually happened a few times). I was a USDA scientist at the lab where DEET was discovered in 1954. So far as know, problems have not been documented with reasonable use. Yes, DEET (more than the ethyl alcohol that it is generally dissolved in) happily dissolves glue, paint and many plastics. [What is DET????]

go to a local finish masters or automotive paint shop buy a "3m eraser" and hook it up to a drill. Use this tool(3m eraser) at slow speed on a drill, to prevent damage. high speed will scuff top coat. use the eraser for vinyl and mineral spirits to remove glue and rinse, wash, wax like new!