Vinyl Graphic Removal from Awlcraft

Well, aside from the more serious issue of cafe oil, which I hope to resolve very soon with the sage advice of members of this forum, I plan a vessel name change.


And prior to having the new graphics installed, I must obviously remove the old. I say old, though the current vinyl was only installed in 2016. And the boat has been stored indoors heated every winter since she was brand new off the factory floor.


I understand that removal from a gelcoat finish requires a certain procedure and products, but from paint is another matter. I presume that the task involves a hairdryer. But can anyone with such experience kindly share the benefits of that experience so that I don't damage my Alwcraft 2000 paint finish? Thanks.

I have done it several times. They make plastic razor blades (old style single edge, not the utility knife type) for use in small window / decal scrappers. Got mine at a marine supply store. Not going to say you can't scratch the paint with one, but much more user friendly when trying to lift the corner of a decal.

See if you can lift the corner of the letter with the above tool. Sometimes you can slowly peel the decal once you get the corner lifted. If the decal is brittle, heating it till its warm to the touch with a heat gun or hair dryer will make it easier to peel. Heating softens the vinyl, loosens the adhesive a little, and keeps the vinyl from breaking as easily.

Ted

Ross
From my MS / Awlcraft experience
Heat gun helps a lot.
I tried those plastic "razor" blades but they were not very sharp or sturdy... gave up.
A stiff sharp plastic scraper worked best for me. I rounded the corners so less likely to scratch. Goo gone helped with the glue residue. I did a light final clean with Colonite cleaner before applying new vinyl.

O C Diver said:

I have done it several times. They make plastic razor blades (old style single edge, not the utility knife type) for use in small window / decal scrappers. Got mine at a marine supply store. Not going to say you can't scratch the paint with one, but much more user friendly when trying to lift the corner of a decal.

See if you can lift the corner of the letter with the above tool. Sometimes you can slowly peel the decal once you get the corner lifted. If the decal is brittle, heating it till its warm to the touch with a heat gun or hair dryer will make it easier to peel. Heating softens the vinyl, loosens the adhesive a little, and keeps the vinyl from breaking as easily.

Ted

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Thanks for the tips, Ted.

Bacchus said:

Ross
From my MS / Awlcraft experience
Heat gun helps a lot.
I tried those plastic "razor" blades but they were not very sharp or sturdy... gave up.
A stiff sharp plastic scraper worked best for me. I rounded the corners so less likely to scratch. Goo gone helped with the glue residue. I did a light final clean with Colonite cleaner before applying new vinyl.

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Thanks, Don. I'll try the plastic blade/scraper, and I already have a "glue-off" product. I'll just check the instruction label re use on painted surfaces.



I've been unable so far to find a collinite product that isn't a wax or pre-wax product. https://www.caswellcanada.ca/collinite-wax-products/. What exactly do you use? What do think about this product? https://www.foghboatsupplies.com/stain-remover-heavy-duty-yma011g.html

Ross,
You do know that changing a boat's name is serious business. Not just the vinyl. You have to conduct a complete ceremony (see John Vigor's ceremony for name changing) and invite all TF members to come where you supply copious amounts of adult beveridges
Failure to do this can result in very upset sea, weather, and other deities resulting in "bad luck", so it is far better to just invite the whole TF crew!

A while ago I removed painted lettering on Awalgrip with EZ off oven cleaner.
Wiped it on scrubbed it for 2 minutes washed off with soap etc.

The new letting came from diylettering.com
Great company, I needed a Beneteau logo their seahorse.

Went to brands.com got vector file uploaded to them they only charged about $20 for a 9" logo with all the other lettering home port etc less than $100

firehoser75 said:

Ross,
You do know that changing a boat's name is serious business. Not just the vinyl. You have to conduct a complete ceremony (see John Vigor's ceremony for name changing) and invite all TF members to come where you supply copious amounts of adult beveridges
Failure to do this can result in very upset sea, weather, and other deities resulting in "bad luck", so it is far better to just invite the whole TF crew!

Click to expand...

All in good fun!

Just remember, keeping a totally inappropriate name is also bad luck.
Our first boat was a new build, so our choice of name was on it when it was sold, and still there when seen 30 years on.
Our second had a silly name, so we had to change it, went with our original choice, adding a number to it.
Our third (present boat) was already on its second name, which made sense only if your heritage was that of the last 2 owners, so it also had to go. Luckily our present name was the same number of letters and the name was all on teak boards, so no shadowing that couldn't just be sanded out.
Luckily again, this was all done long before TF, so we missed the obligation Tom has outlined.

Ross
On that Colonite link it's the prexwax cleaner. I apply by hand and it does a nice job cleaning the surface prior to applying graphics. I dont normally use it on my Awlgrip but did in this 1 time for prep.

firehoser75 said:

Ross,
You do know that changing a boat's name is serious business. Not just the vinyl. You have to conduct a complete ceremony (see John Vigor's ceremony for name changing) and invite all TF members to come where you supply copious amounts of adult beveridges
Failure to do this can result in very upset sea, weather, and other deities resulting in "bad luck", so it is far better to just invite the whole TF crew!

Click to expand...

Not that I'm superstitious, Tom, but you're all invited as soon as my boat is capable of carrying all TF members.

lipets said:

A while ago I removed painted lettering on Awalgrip with EZ off oven cleaner.
Wiped it on scrubbed it for 2 minutes washed off with soap etc.

The new letting came from diylettering.com
Great company, I needed a Beneteau logo their seahorse.

Went to brands.com got vector file uploaded to them they only charged about $20 for a 9" logo with all the other lettering home port etc less than $100

Click to expand...

Thanks. But my graphics are vinyl and not paint. I'd be really nervous using such a corrosive product on a painted hull.

koliver said:

All in good fun!

Just remember, keeping a totally inappropriate name is also bad luck.
Our first boat was a new build, so our choice of name was on it when it was sold, and still there when seen 30 years on.
Our second had a silly name, so we had to change it, went with our original choice, adding a number to it.
Our third (present boat) was already on its second name, which made sense only if your heritage was that of the last 2 owners, so it also had to go. Luckily our present name was the same number of letters and the name was all on teak boards, so no shadowing that couldn't just be sanded out.
Luckily again, this was all done long before TF, so we missed the obligation Tom has outlined.

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Quite a story, Keith. I'd decided that a name change was in order before I even bought this boat. But when I crossed paths with another vessel named Red Rover (without any number; mine is currently Red Rover II) this past summer, my decision to change her name was confirmed.



In case you're unaware, in Canada, federally registered vessels are done so by name and port of registry. So, each name must be unique.

Bacchus said:

Ross
On that Colonite link it's the prexwax cleaner. I apply by hand and it does a nice job cleaning the surface prior to applying graphics. I dont normally use it on my Awlgrip but did in this 1 time for prep.

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Thanks, Don. But the manufacturer's description states that it's not recommended for darker-toned clear coat paint. You had no ill effects from its use on your dark hull?

RossWilson said:

Not that I'm superstitious, Tom, but you're all invited as soon as my boat is capable of carrying all TF members.

Click to expand...

I am not superstitious either, but we did have a big christening ceremony for our first boat (bought her new) complete with beveridges, food, many guests (not TF forum numbers though). It was great fun! Even broke the bottle of bubbly (inside a sock so as not to get glass everywhere).

For our trawler, (our second boat), we decided not to change the name. Two reasons: First, we actually liked the name after we found out what it means and it is not very common.

Second, we are just too cheap to go all out for the big party
So, in this way, we have kept all bases covered, so good ju ju should be assured But I am not superstitious.

I think the easiest way to remove vinyl letters is with a vinyl eraser. It is a rubber disc that you chuck in a drill and erase the vinyl off the paint. I’ve used the one made by 3M on gel coat and it worked great. They specifically mention using it on marine paint in their literature.
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/?N=5002385+3293162209+3294857497&rt=rud

First take the hair dryer to it. Heat guns work but you can do damage to paint with a heat gun so I prefer the hair dryer. Use high temp on the hair dryer, start at a corner and pull slowly, if the glue is sticking to the boat use less heat. If you leave excessive glue on the boat then you will need an eraser wheel as mentioned above to properly remove the glue. Once the vinyl is removed you will probably need to buff the transom with a polishing compound. You can never fully buff out the vinyl shadow but you should be able to make it mostly invisible.

RossWilson said:

Thanks. But my graphics are vinyl and not paint. I'd be really nervous using such a corrosive product on a painted hull.

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Actually, EZoff oven cleaner is exactly what we recommend to remove painted on graphics from painted surfaces.

firehoser75 said:

I am not superstitious either, but we did have a big christening ceremony for our first boat (bought her new) complete with beveridges, food, many guests (not TF forum numbers though). It was great fun! Even broke the bottle of bubbly (inside a sock so as not to get glass everywhere).

For our trawler, (our second boat), we decided not to change the name. Two reasons: First, we actually liked the name after we found out what it means and it is not very common.

Second, we are just too cheap to go all out for the big party
So, in this way, we have kept all bases covered, so good ju ju should be assured But I am not superstitious.

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Sounds like you handled things wisely and with panache, Tom.

HopCar said:

I think the easiest way to remove vinyl letters is with a vinyl eraser. It is a rubber disc that you chuck in a drill and erase the vinyl off the paint. I’ve used the one made by 3M on gel coat and it worked great. They specifically mention using it on marine paint in their literature.
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/?N=5002385+3293162209+3294857497&rt=rud

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I'd be somewhat nervous about this method due primarily to the warning about heat buildup from the spinning wheel. I can certainly see it proving effective on gelcoat. But on Awlcraft 2000 marine paint, which has a softer finish than Awlgrip, due to the less dense molecular structure, the surface resin has a lower melting point.


When this acrylic urethane is buffed, the resin is able to flow together. Nevertheless, the more it's buffed, the closer you get to exposing the colour pigment beneath, and shortening the life of the paint.


Thus, I feel in my case, the use of some chemical, not-abrasive cleaner would be wiser.

tiltrider1 said:

First take the hair dryer to it. Heat guns work but you can do damage to paint with a heat gun so I prefer the hair dryer. Use high temp on the hair dryer, start at a corner and pull slowly, if the glue is sticking to the boat use less heat. If you leave excessive glue on the boat then you will need an eraser wheel as mentioned above to properly remove the glue. Once the vinyl is removed you will probably need to buff the transom with a polishing compound. You can never fully buff out the vinyl shadow but you should be able to make it mostly invisible.

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Thanks. I'll give it a try.

RossWilson said:

Thanks, Don. But the manufacturer's description states that it's not recommended for darker-toned clear coat paint. You had no ill effects from its use on your dark hull?

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I did it by hand to avoid any harsh effects with a machine.
No noticable effects other than a very light blue pick up on the cloth.
I've used it extensively on gelcoat with excellent results both hand and machine.

Bacchus said:

I did it by hand to avoid any harsh effects with a machine.
No noticable effects other than a very light blue pick up on the cloth.
I've used it extensively on gelcoat with excellent results both hand and machine.

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So, it did penetrate the resin surface coat and get to the pigment. I'd not want to do that very often. Awlgrip provides the following recommendations: https://www.awlgrip.com/support/maintaining-an-awlgrip-finish


Use only mild solvents to remove stubborn stains. Awlprep T0008, mineral spirits, xylene, kerosene and diesel fuel are acceptable for use on these topcoats. They also specifically advise not to use strong solvents, such as lacquer thinner, M.E.K. or acetone, to clean Awlcraft 2000 finishes.

RossWilson said:

?..Use only mild solvents to remove stubborn stains. Awlprep T0008, mineral spirits, xylene, kerosene and diesel fuel are acceptable for use on these topcoats. They also specifically advise not to use strong solvents, such as lacquer thinner, M.E.K. or acetone, to clean Awlcraft 2000 finishes.

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We had Awgrip and now Awlcraft 2000. I found mineral spirits and/or WD40 worked to take the glue residue off. My biggest issue is/was being patient and remembering to change rags frequently.

Larry M said:

We had Awgrip and now Awlcraft 2000. I found mineral spirits and/or WD40 worked to take the glue residue off. My biggest issue is/was being patient and remembering to change rags frequently.

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Thanks, Larry. So, you never experienced pigment removal using these products? That's good confirmation.

We have used Bio-Solv to remove old vinyl letters, and works like a charm. We just lent some to our slip neighbor as his old letters were fairly thin, and scraping/razor blading them was taking forever. Using Bio-Solv he was done in minutes.

But if you choose to use heat, I agree with the recommendation to start with a good hair dryer before going to a heat gun. A hair dryer won't accidentally bubble your paint!

RossWilson said:

Thanks, Larry. So, you never experienced pigment removal using these products? That's good confirmation.

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Not that I’ve noticed but we’ve always had white hulls/paint.

Larry M said:

Not that I’ve noticed but we’ve always had white hulls/paint.

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I just checked Bio-Solv's website and discovered that this product can attack several types of surfaces, including acrylic, within an hour of exposure. And Awlcraft paint is acrylic-based. So, I'd be really careful about using it on a painted hull. Maybe you got lucky?



https://greenacetone.com/compatibility/

Try WD40

bayview said:

Try WD40

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WD40 apparently is composed of half solvent and another quarter oil. It's controversial, to say the least. Have you used it successfully to remove vinyl graphics from a marine painted fibreglass surface?

If all else fails, and those did, I bought Vinyl Off, you can find it on the company website and on Amazon. It is about $32/qt. The stuff works, you can see it on my Youtube channel Buena Ventura Life.


Nothing else did the trick, the vinyl lettering was embedded in the gelcoat.