Remove decals?

[gospelcanada]

Hi there,

I'm not sure if I have a gelcoat or painted boat. I've attached an image of what the decaling looks like on my boat. I'm wondering what's the best way to remove all of the coloured decals. I started using a hot gun and noticed that underneath the red is a brighter more fresh looking red. I was then thinking of getting the boat wrapped with vinyl wrap from Vvivid.

 

[ondarvr]

It's gel coat. If you're wrapping it the color under the tape doesn't make any difference, but it's normal.

 

[gospelcanada]

Okay thanks ondarvr. It's a tedious job to remove the decaling and red tape but I require a smooth finish to ensure the wrapping is solid tight.

 

[mickyryan]

I'm about to receive a decal remover my decals are 1988 so I will try and let you know ABN Decal Eraser Wheel Pinstripe Removal Kit was my choice , will let you know

 

[Grub54891]

Them eraser tools work beautifully!

 

[gospelcanada]

Thanks mickyryan. I look forward to your results. Also the magic eraser is probably what you're referring to Grub54891. That's a good tip to probably getting the glue residue off after the decal and red tape is removed. On my truck, I hot gunned a decal off and then took one of those steel wool pads, wetted it, and scrubbed the glue residue off. Worked great and no scratches from it.

 

[jbcurt00]

Not a majic eraser, a decal eraser is a rubber compound wheel on a spindle, that goes in a drill and friction rubs decals off.

 

[Grub54891]

This is the type we use at the shop

 

[mickyryan]

that's what got coming I tried heat gun but moving a inch per hour I was like ohh hell naw, so I'm going to try this lol the outer layer has like 11 stripes built on top of each other probably went on as one stripe but comes off 11 pieces lol

 

[gospelcanada]

No Title

Here's some more pictures. I'm curious to know if the red needs to come off as well. I'll order the eraser from Amazon. Thanks for the tips.



​

 

[mickyryan]

worked like a charm but looks like one wheel per side for big graphics took about 20 minutes and they were history!

 

[gospelcanada]

Thanks for the update mickyryan. I ordered it today but might have to order another one then. We'll see how it goes. I took a 'before' pic of the boat. Hopefully the 'after' pic will be better than the 'before' pic lol.

 

[gospelcanada]

No Title

Here's a before pic of the entire boat. I'll keep this thread updated with progress, Complete rookie but everyone needs to start somewhere I guess

 

[ondarvr]

The first pic and the last one are totally different boats, yours is aluminum, so it changes everything. You have paint, there's no way for us to tell if it needs to come off or not, it depends on the condition.

 

[gospelcanada]

No Title

The decal remover worked great. I was able to get off the decals. I used a heat gun to warm the decals and it seems to come off much easier when applying the decal remover to it. I also used a steel wool pad to clean up any residue that was left from the decals. I'll clean up the remainder of the boat with the steel wool pad and pressure washer. Yes, the remaining color around the decal is paint with aluminum. I'll require a smooth finish to apply the boat wrap. I think I'll purchase the following boat wrap to ensure any blemishes underneath the wrap are not noticeable. Any wrap that is glossy will most likely easily show blemishes: https://www.amazon.ca/Carbon-VViViD...1-5&keywords=5ft+x+60ft+300sq+ft+Cast+VViViD8

I confirmed with a VViViD8 rep that this can be applied to boats as well. I'll post a pic once complete.

 

[Woodonglass]

Instead of Steel Wool I'd recommend wet sanding with 800-1000 grit paper.

 

[Grub54891]

I'd agree with woodonglass. When we must use wool on anything boat related we use bronze wool. If using steel wool, you will imbed fibers in to whatever you are cleaning/polishing, and the end result is rust specs, that never go away. Heck I even use the bronze wool now for anything refinished at home.

 

[gospelcanada]

Thanks for the tip on the bronze wool. I'm assuming the faded paint around the removed decals is oxidization. What's the best way to remove oxidization from a painted aluminum boat?

 

[gospelcanada]

No Title

Investigating a little more and taking some of the feedback/tips other users have recommended, I would assume that it may be better to prime and paint the boat rather than vinyl wrap it. Here'a picture of the boat again. Though the original paint could be enough to be the primer? Not sure. And I was thinking of painting it black though is it recommended to paint it with the same colour as the original?

 

[gospelcanada]

No Title

Here's the final product. I decided to paint it and add some fresh decals. Used it for the last two weeks and everything is holding up just fine. Took many many many hours of prep, prime, and paint. Thanks for all of your help everyone.