Sticker Crud

Any recommendations for getting the sticky crud off that is usually left behind by stickers on the hull.

I use to use Goo Off in the past, but looking for something that is less toxic. Got a lot of stickers to remove.

Thanks

I put goo off over the decals and heated it up a bit. They peeled off smoothly and left minimal residue.

Goo-Gone gel in the squirt bottle. Let it sit for a bit and use a hard plastic squeegee. Works great.

A citrus based cleaner will work well too (very similar to goo-gone). gentle heat will loosen as mentioned above.

Denatured alcohol will work slowwwwly. Acentone will work quiiiikly. Goo-gone is somewhere in the middle but probably more mild than either from a chemical standpoint.

I've also used Goo-Gone. Works great, but takes some time (as mentioned).

I've heard that a hair dryer or heat gun can also help (heat the vinyl as you remove it, most of the glue should come with it).

Mike

Goof-off in the spray can. Add Heat gun. Rinse Repeat. I just took all the stickers off my hull and its quite a chore.

Xylene. It's the main ingredient in 3m Vinyl/Decal remover( which is great but expensive).

Basically you have two choices...toxic or not.

The more toxic, the better and faster it will work.

If want want to be totally "green" you will just have to live with sticker gooo.

I am 66 years old and have been using acetone and similar solvents all my life and I am still here...caugh, caugh, hack.

The main thing we have learned is to use these solvents with respect, in good ventilation and perhaps with gloves.

The sailing we do is more risky than the chemicals we use (IMHO)

Just be careful out there.

Don't know if it meets your toxicity requirement, but regular lighter fluid that you put in a zippo type lighter will get rid of it in an instant. Cheap too.
Don't think I'd use it on a sail, just on the hull.

I have actually seen this in action, but you need to clean it off real fast or it will hurt your gelcoat - so I have been told.

based on lots of experience is with old stickers, Acetone wins...hands down
but use in a well ventilated area
I apply it without gloves

You all are wrong. MEK is the best. But wear nitril gloves and have good venelation. It will melt about anything including your liver.

I cannot believe it has not yet been said,

Buckets and Buckets of Acetone ! ! !

The only thing less toxic than Goo Off is water. Good luck.

Man up...acetone or MEK.

There is a completely non-toxic AND effective way to remove stickers or decals from you hulls. It's an eraser that fits in an electric drill. It looks like a grinding wheel except it's made of rubber. Leaves no residue or marks.

Yeah, my bodyman showed me that, and it works amazingly well.

Dave

An eraser?

Sounds Elementary to me!

;-)

I've got one but it doesn't work well on old crusty graphics.

That only works on sails!

I got lucky this time out and the stickers came off pretty easy. I had went to the old stand by Goof Off, applied a generous amount of Goof Off using some old towels, turned the hull so it was facing into the sun for about an hour, came back with a razor blade and a plastic paint scraper and presto they came right off.

Thanks for the help, appreciate it

PETROL

What century are you people living in? If your boat has unwanted stickers on it throw it out and buy a new one.

+1

Depending on what glue it is, use:

Mineral Spirits
Lacquer Thinner
Acetone
Isopropyl alcohol
Denatured alcohol
epoxy remover
3m 5200 remover
xylene
Anhydrous ammonia

And finally hard work or heat, some glues are not soluble in anything you would want to touch your boat. The last 4 in my list should be tried on boats with extreme caution. They could soften if not remove gelcoat

The best stuff I have found is 3M decal or IPS decal remover. The formulation changes, they put a little bit of everything in it.

My preferred method is to use mineral spirits, then acetone, next 3m decal remover and finally a heat gun at no more than 200F

This is just going to get worse over time. I have seen new product announcements, that are really inert adhesives that use 10-100 ppm of acid on their surface to chemically bond to whatever you put them on. That's going to suck to get off.