I removed the old name from the transom of my boat only to find a "shadow" of the name remaining. I have removed the adhesive and compounded the area using 3M's heavy duty rubbing compound and buffer with a wool pad. Not even a glimmer of progress. It appears to have stained the Gelcoat. Does anyone have a solution other than the inevitable repaint?
Boat Name Change Frustration
- Thread starter PCoch
- Start date
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RT Firefly
Enigma
Greetings,
Mr. PC. Bigger name decal?
Mr. PC. Bigger name decal?
Tom.B
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Actually, I don't think it stained the gelcoat, it actually protected it and all the gelcoat around it faded. TBH, I can see the last two names. I tried to remove them too, but now I figure that without painting it, I would just deal with it. Over time, they have faded into the background considerably, but it really doesn't bother me anymore.
I know this is absolutely ZERO help, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it. ;-)
I know this is absolutely ZERO help, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it. ;-)
The old one is 8" and the new is 8.5" but a shorter name.
Yeah, I guess that is an option, too. I have found in the past that the person doing the work is likely the only one to notice. It's nice to know that it might fade over time though.
That's an idea... I did already buy the new decals but that might be worth it.
Does anyone have any experience using bleach?
Thanks,
Paul
I have a friend that does vinyl signs and I would bet you could find a vinyl sign maker near you to purchase a piece to put on first as a background for your name decals. It would most likely be pretty inexpensive and if you wanted they could easily cut it into any shape you wanted such as an extended oval or..... It is the same procedure to put on as your decals and available in a myriad of colors, textures etc.
I had the same problem. I tried the background vinyl but looked odd. I tried to match the color to the rest of the boat (white) but every sample i got was just not a good match. I suppose you could try to go with a totally different color and incorperate it in the design of the graphics but i am not sure how that would look. Somewhere it has to transition to the gelcoat.
I just went over top of the ghost. I am told that after a summer it will not be visible or will be much less.
I just went over top of the ghost. I am told that after a summer it will not be visible or will be much less.
I'm concerned about that too. I guess if I don't wax the area then the UV will do it's magic even faster...
I've attached a close-up of the problem.
Paul
I like what you've done there, Mike. I don't have a creative bone in my body and my wife is worse. I work at an Ad agency - maybe i'll run it by one of our Creatives here.
Trying again to attach a close-up of the problem...
As you can see the bottom is being repainted.
Trying again to attach a close-up of the problem...
As you can see the bottom is being repainted.
Attachments
Wow - That is a bitch! Does look like the prev name actually embedded into gel coat. You might call around and ask boat detail people how'd they'd get the old name completely out. Even tell em you'd be glad to pay reasonable cost if they'd successfully do it for ya. Seems if one knew how to do it with correct product that it should not take too long to accomplish. I feel there must be some sort of paste or liquid that could "draw" (i.e. suck) that darkened area out from gel coat?? Best Luck! Please do let us know outcome and how you did it if successful!
Happy Boating Daze! - Art
Is all the sticky gone? it looks like that there is some stick residue. that is exactly what mine looked like before i took some of this Adhesive Remover 6041, 24 fl oz - Shop3M to it. i even took steel wool to it and this stuff and a plastic razorblade got more off than did the steel wool
Tom.B
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The two previous names of Skinny Dippin' were down low and behind the ladder like yours. The other was up high, but small. I just moved it up to the sundeck surround to be above the dinghy... oh... and made it HUGE 
lettering1 by GonzoF1, on Flickr
And installed it myself
lettering2 by GonzoF1, on Flickr
lettering1 by GonzoF1, on Flickr
And installed it myself
lettering2 by GonzoF1, on Flickr
It's absolutely clean. The color is from the old name. It was blue with a light brown offset shadow. The blue part left no trace when removed. I used "Goof-off" and the scraper that BoatUS Graphics sent with the new name to remove the glue residue. It now feels as smooth as a baby's ... Not tacky to the touch. I'll try a few things next weekend like bleach, steel wool, razor blade, Magic Eraser even, and report back.
Carolena
Guru
On the two boats that we've had to deal with a name change, wetsanding after removing all the adheasive and before compounding made a big difference. We used 600 grit wet sand paper. It didn't come out perfect, but much better than just compound. It will continue to fade over time.
Thanks, I'll add that to my list and do that first.
Latest results:
After compounding with 3M heavy duty rubbing compound and wet sanding with 600 grit paper I found little improvement. I am nervous about sanding any more so I am giving up and hoping the sun can do what I cannot. The new name goes on Saturday.
Thanks to all for the input.
Paul
After compounding with 3M heavy duty rubbing compound and wet sanding with 600 grit paper I found little improvement. I am nervous about sanding any more so I am giving up and hoping the sun can do what I cannot. The new name goes on Saturday.
Thanks to all for the input.
Paul
LaBomba
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I also tried 600 grit and compound but ended up with a background piece. They can do it solid, patterned, or anything you can imagine, they can do with graphics. Ours was supposed to be solid silver background but the graphics guy did the engine turn on both the background and lettering. Not in love with it and may change it but a lot better than the original.
Attachments
It definitely does the job but I can't get the idea past the Admiral.
Bleach will do nothing for this. Nothing at all. At least it will do no harm.
Steel wool will leave particles of steel imbedded in the gelcoat and they will begin to rust and will be a never ending problem. Never use steel wool on your boat. If you think you need steel wool buy some bronze wool or use a plastic substitute.
Razor blade? Not unless there's something stuck to the surface. Solvent would be a much better choice.
Magic Eraser? That's a very fine abrasive. Wet sanding would be a better choice.
Someone else posted it, you have an area that was protected from UV rays by the old decal. That part is essentially new, the part not covered by the decal has had years of weathering. The only way to get rid of the "ghost" is to bring the surrounding area back to new condition. Wet sanding is the only way to do this other than repainting.
Interesting question. I will let the fiberglass gurus jump on on this one. I am on the GB forum and CPES comes up frequently, especially with wood. I used it when redoing some teak flooring in our GB to seal the wood and I have heard it used in blister repair. But I am not sure about fiberglass. I don't think it is a topcoat so Does anyone know if this would work? I would not try it on the boat before testing it on a sample of gel coat from a scrap piece obtained a boatyard.
