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Remove old painted name from hull

4K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  BreakAwayFL 
#1 ·
Hello all,

I'm ready to remove the old name from the boat. Unfortunately (for me), it was painted on, and I'm trying to make sure I am removing it in the best way.

What I had decided on was this:

  • Wash/Scrub the stern with a heavy duty cleaner that should strip any wax remaining
  • Slowly and gently sand with 1000 grit paper with a random orbital sander until most of the lettering is gone
  • Do the same with 1600 grit until the remainder is removed
  • same grit to rest of stern
  • Polish
  • Apply Vinyl lettering
  • Wax
  • Next week, wax again

Does this sound right, or am I out of whack here?

Also, is the 1000 grit too coarse and the 1600 grit fine enough?

Thanks for any input!
 
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#2 ·
If it is painted on top of gellcoat easy off oven cleaner is a real quick and simple way to remove painted names etc. Spray the easy off cleaner on, let it sit for 10 -15 minutes, wipe off with paper towels. Repeat if anything remains, rinse. Done. No sanding needed. Sometimes easy off will leave a yellow haze behind that can neutralized with vinegar or you can wait a day or two and it will go away on its own.
 
#13 ·
If it is painted on top of gellcoat easy off oven cleaner is a real quick and simple way to remove painted names etc.
I used oven cleaner and it was most successful.

However, it just removed the pigment. There is a colorless raised bump where all the letters were. Its relatively obvious.
 
#4 ·
Yeah not so really in my experience. Our first boat had a painted on name and we tried EZ-Off along with several forms of paint remover. We eventually got it OFF, but it was anything but EZ.

The key to avoid tennis (paint removal) elbow is to let the chemical do its job and not get in too big a hurry. Apply, wait, wipe and repeat. Be generous with whatever you choose.
 
#7 ·
I took the painted name off mine with some orange-based paint remover I bought at Home Depot. I believe it was intended to remove graffiti. It took several applications, and waiting about 15 mins after each application, but the paint came off with a scraper after that. I then compounded and polished the entire transom. There is a slight ghost of the old name just because the gelcoat under there wasn't weathered as much, but it's really unnoticable unless you know to look for it.
 
#8 ·
I thought about paint remover (makes sense right?) but was concerned about taking off the gel along with it. (might be a dumb newbie statement, but there you go)

Unless anyone has better ideas, I am going to try the Easy-Off method first, since it seems less aggressive. After that I'll try the orange based remover. I don't have a ton of faith in it since the name on my boat is 40 years old, but I'll give it a shot!
 
#10 ·
Worked well for me. Name had been painted on for 8 years and was in good shape. I did it as I laid out above on a miserably hot summer day in Florida. Let the Easy off work and don't get in too much of a hurry. On mine it initially left a yellowish shadow, but that was gone with no intervention in a couple of days. Others have told me that vinegar will remove the yellow immediately.

I also use Easy off to remove old decals from the gellcoat, off in seconds with no residue and no need for heat.

good luck!
 
#9 ·
I was also afraid of taking the gel coat off, and I think when I left the paint remover on there for a really long time, it might have softened the gel coat a little, but it's now been a year and shows no adverse effects. I'd just try to work quickly once it's soaked for a while, and wash it off really well.
 
#14 ·
When I first got my boat, I compounded the gelcoat using an orbital buffer to bring back the color. When I got to the transom, I compounded as usual and didn't even think twice about the painted on name. Somewhat to my dismay, I discovered that I was accidentally compounding the painted on name right off.
I don't know if it works when you're doing it on purpose or not!
 
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