Remove painted name from hull

[docsabre]

Need to remove a painted name from the hull of my boat and do not want to hurt the gelcoat. Any thoughts ?

Doc S32 #10

[BigZ]

Interlux (as well as other companies) sell some good stuff for what you need. Buy it and follow the directions closely. Probably little chance of harming the gelcoat if you buy from a company dealing with marine applications.

[halyardz]

I just completed a similar job. I first tried oven cleaner to remove the old painted name. Didn''t make a dent! Then used marine version of peel-away which took off about 80% but the remainder I had to employ 220 3M pad to remove. Once clean, I noticed the old lettering (including the previous one from the early 90s) raised the gelcoat underneath the names and had a slightly yellow shadow.

As per suggestions from other board members, I left the stern in the sun for several months prior to application of new name to bleach out the yellow a bit. That worked OK. Then compounded with 3M followed by Finesse polish to help fill in some of the abrasive marks left by the 220 (took 3 coats). Then two weeks ago applied a vinyl name, which conformed nicely to the "bumps" left by the old lettering. Finally, waxed the stern. It all came out fairly good, considering its a 1980 hull that has lost some of its luster.

[docsabre]

Ay last , wet sanding with HCL and then buffing with rubbing compound did the job !

[docsabre]

Did not use more than 600 grit to wet sand, HCL was in a product bought at Boat US

[fishclan]

If you want the best looking and you have a good layer of gelcoat, wet sand lightly with fourhundred use a slight angle with your strokes. You don''t have to get it all but most of it. Then with sixhunded wet sand the most favorable direction. That way you will be able to see when you get all the 400 scratches out. You can''t buff out 400 scratches Then buff with a buffer at about 2500 rpms. start with 1000 grit and then to 2000 grit. Do it all the time at work. Good luck
David