Cetol removal

[rchad]

Can anyone suggest a remover for cetol that won't bother my gelcoat? There are some places where I have very limited ability to sand or scrape.

[brak]

Cetol instructions say "turpentine" and that seems to work well enough. That said, I found that once it dries, cetol is nearly impossible to remove from the gelcoat. YMMV

[Minnewaska]

Originally Posted by brak

Cetol instructions say "turpentine" and that seems to work well enough. That said, I found that once it dries, cetol is nearly impossible to remove from the gelcoat. YMMV

I believe the prior owner put cetol on my teak cockpit seats. Its sort of shiny and orange. Gross!! Its almost always under the cushions, so I've never gotten around to removing it.

Do the instructions say it will remove dried cetol or is that the solution to getting it off the gelcoat if you drip during application?

Ironically, one seat has a spot that looks like something dripped across it and fully removed the cetol down to the bare teak. I've always wanted to know what it was and chuckled thinking it was probably a squirt from a kids juice box.

[CalebD]

Believe it or not, gasoline makes a pretty good thinner/disolver. I'd bet that gasoline was spilled where your teak is showing.
I would not try this in conjunction with gasoline but a heat gun and a scraper might also do the trick.

[Minnewaska]

Originally Posted by CalebD

Believe it or not, gasoline makes a pretty good thinner/disolver. I'd bet that gasoline was spilled where your teak is showing.
I would not try this in conjunction with gasoline but a heat gun and a scraper might also do the trick.

Holy moly. That might be it. The spot is on the helm seat, right in front of the dinghy. Suppose it is possible he spilled gasoline moving the tank on/off. Thanks.

[svHyLyte]

While a heat gun might be a little much for cockpit seats, particularly if there is caulking between the slats, I have used a hand-held hair dryer (a used one picked up at a Salvation Army store for $3.00) to soften Cetol enough that it can be stripped with a small scraper. I don't think using gasoline as a solvent is very wise and wouldn't recommend doing so.

FWIW,,,

[PorFin]

Originally Posted by rchad

Can anyone suggest a remover for cetol that won't bother my gelcoat? There are some places where I have very limited ability to sand or scrape.

Although I've never used it on Cetol, a chemical stripper may be your best option. Something less agressive like Citrus Strip could be a good option. Mask the gelcoat before you start, and carefully use the stripper. Keep an eye on your masking, and be ready to clean off spills.

If you do get some stripper on your gelcoat, it shouldn't affect it -- if there's any doubt in your mind, try applying a small amount of stripper to an out of the way spot and see what happens. If any of the Cetol suspended in the stripper stains your gelcoat, you may need to wetsand and buff (check out MaineSail's excellent thread for details.)

[Yofy]

We've been using Cetol on exterior wood on our boats for 20 years. Since I am the one responsible for refinishing and maintaining all our wood finishes, I have a fair amount of experience with removing cetol from gelcoat. In fact, the first time I used cetol, many years ago, I SPILLED a WHOLE can of it on our lovely white deck.

You can remove most of the cetol stain off of gelcoat with acetone if you do it straight away while the cetol is still wet. A faint shadow may remain, but it will bleach out with the sun and after several months of deck scrubs.

If the cetol has dried on, then the job is much trickier. You can try to gently scrape off a thick run of cetol with the tip of a scraper. You can try using wet sandpaper to gently sand off drips, but you need to be careful of the surrounding gelcoat. I have found that dried cetol seems to remove better the following year... the sun must soften it.

Robyn

[poopdeckpappy]

Go to the local hardware store and find Citrus Strip Gel, ( Soy strip works well also ) works great to remove all varnishes including cetol; It won't hurt the GC, its biodegradable and its easy to control the mess

[Yofy]

Manny would never let me near our gelcoat with any kind of painstripper - biodegradable or not. The only safe way to remove old Cetol form your brightwork is to sand it off. When we bought Yofy all her brightwork was covered in this dark brown stain and sealant. It looked like brown paint. Yofy has YARDS of brightwork and I spent the better part of two winters sanding the wood down and applying Cetol. I still have the bowsprit to go.

Sometimes you just have to use elbow greese.
Robyn