Removing old vinyl letters for name change

Irish Rover

Irish Rover

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The toffee wheel is the way to go about it. Have removed all kinds of lettering from a few years old to over 20 years old. Absolutely zero risk to the gel coat. Then wet and dry sand + polish = good as new. Do not wax until after new lettering has been stuck on. Enjoy :)
 
duncan99210 said:
I used a hair dryer to remove vinyl lettering from my project boat. Reasonably gentle heat to soften the glue and the lettering came of a treat with plastic scrapper. Then used acetone with a scotch pad to remove the remaining stickiness.
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+1
If the boat has seen few summers, there will almost certainly remain a shadow in the gelcoat under the letters.
Not much you can do, unless you are a perfectionist.
Just arrange new letters as best you can over the top.
 
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+1 to hair dryer. Just taken off 20 letters after being on for 17 years and found that waving the dryer around at the exact distance where you don’t burn your fingers worked really well. You need finger nails :)

Then some white spirit for any residual glue on an old towel and some washing up liguid to get rid of the spirit ... a really easy job.

Hardest part was holding the dryer and trying to detach the now warm and sticky letters from your fingers :)
 
oldgit said:
+1
If the boat has seen few summers, there will almost certainly remain a shadow in the gelcoat under the letters.
Not much you can do, unless you are a perfectionist.
Just arrange new letters as best you can over the top.
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You could have your letters placed on a backing vinyl if the gel coat is marked. The extra cost is minimal, but gives you extra design choice.
 
If you do have marks in the gelcoat, rub down with 1000 grit wet & dry until they're gone, then cutting compound and polish (don't wax though until yo have the new letters on).
 
I removed lettering with hot water and plastic scraper as no electricity available. The glue residue came off quite easily with white spirit and a green washing up pad.
You'll probably find that the gelcoat under the letters is slightly raised, you could polish this out with fine grit paper but I didn't bother.
Check the spelling of the new lettering carefully before application, I got the letters for Llanbedr and Pensarn Yacht Club wrong once and applied as LYPC but didn't bother changing them.
 
duncan99210 said:
I used a hair dryer to remove vinyl lettering from my project boat. Reasonably gentle heat to soften the glue and the lettering came of a treat with plastic scrapper. Then used acetone with a scotch pad to remove the remaining stickiness.
Click to expand...
+1

I used a good "sticky stuff remover"
 
Bobc said:
If you do have marks in the gelcoat, rub down with 1000 grit wet & dry until they're gone, then cutting compound and polish (don't wax though until yo have the new letters on).
Click to expand...
Not really practical if the lettering has been on for years and years. I replaced ours recently and under the old lettering the gelcoat level was both higher and a different colour. Rub down to smooth the surface then, as has already been suggested, position the new letters to cover/disguise as best you can.
 
Sandy said:
+1

I used a good "sticky stuff remover"
Click to expand...

No home or boat should be without a bottle of "Sticky Stuff Remover"

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Incidentally I found the video attached here quite interesting.

http://www.funkymonkeyboatnames.co.uk

When I changed a previous boat name I was told to take off the backing plate, apply water and washing up liquid to the hull to aid adjustment, then try to squeeze the liquid out with a spatula before taking off the top sheet.

It did work but really worried me that the adhesive would be affected by a slippery film.
 
Yes it does help a lot as the vinyl can be moved, otherwise it just sticks to the first thing it touches. The residual water does eventually dispel as gelcoat is not as impervious to water as we would like to think!
 
Hoolie said:
Yes it does help a lot as the vinyl can be moved, otherwise it just sticks to the first thing it touches. The residual water does eventually dispel as gelcoat is not as impervious to water as we would like to think!
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People are always dubious about this but it is the standard practice with large vinyl signage. You only need a trace of detergent, it's just a wetting agent to reduce surface tension. It works on large graphics on glass windows so I don't think the water disperses through the gelcoat!
 
I once bought a vinyl printer for work, came with software and a short training package to get the best out of it. The biggest thing they hammered home on the training was to use a spray of water plus detergent on the surface you wanted to stick the product to: wet surface, slide vinyl into place and adjust, remove backing and allow to dry. Worked a treat, although the printer itself was a pain.....
 
Yes, always hang new graphics wet otherwise they get bubbles in and look bad. I have a rather large vinyl cutter for doing boat names, etc and window tint templates when needed. Window tinting is also done wet, keeps the dust away and stops the air bubbles coming though.
 
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