Cleaning vinyl stickers from hull

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Highndry

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The Hunter Medina I've just bought has numerous PVC stickers on the hull. A combination of sailing club badges (2006/2007/2008, etc, etc) and self adhesive numbers which I assume were an identifier from her days on the Lake District.
Any tips on how to remove them?
 
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Highndry said:
The Hunter Medina I've just bought has numerous PVC stickers on the hull. A combination of sailing club badges (2006/2007/2008, etc, etc) and self adhesive numbers which I assume where an identifier from her days on the Lake District.
Any tips on how to remove them?
Click to expand...

carefully with a hot air gun / hair drier to soften the adhesive
 
Try 'Stickystuff remover' from B&Q. Works very well, is cheap and I've even used it mixed with B&Q Platsic garden furniture cleaner to make a hull cleaner that works as well as most chandlers supplied cleaners but for a franction of the cost.
 
Highndry said:
And it won't damage the fibreglass? (I'm very new to this!)
Click to expand...

No, grp has pretty good chemical resistance. Very few common chemicals will attack it.

A problem that can occur with stickers on boats is if it has been polished a lot. The sticker area remains at the original height but the surrounding gel coat is slightly worn. My transom has a previous name on it, visible occasionally in certain light.
 
I'm at the next stage, with a lot of removed stickers but very visible colour differences on the hull so you can still read the outlines of the sticker shapes. I've tried cleaning and hand polishing but still the same.

I'm wondering whether the stuff under the stickers has simply weathered less, so is a different shade of off-White to the rest of the hull? If so then any thoughts about how to even it all up?
 
Ah. I was going to ask if it was a plae blue one that has been for sale, but now you've told us the answer.
Try some rubbing compound (Farecla G3, Halfords sell it) or similar. Not any of the "T cut or Colour Restorer type stuff as you'll be rubbing forever and some have a polish built in which you may not want initially.
However it's the yellow hull you are trying to clean to match the sticker-shaded areas so you may have a big job on.

Remember, when you are on-board you can't see those whiter patches.
 
That's not necessarily the end of the world. Once they're off, if need be, I can put new stickers over the top. The difference is they'll be 'my' stickers and not necessarily advertising a sailing club I never belonged to on a lake I don't sail.

Seriously though, most of the stickers aren't that old. I think the oldest is 2005 which on a 30-year-old hull is relatively young!
 
Sticky stuff remover

Buy this in bulk, it's much cheaper and works better..

It's called AutoGlym Tar remover... find it in all motor factors or B&Q sell it in the car section.
 
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