How do I remove the old boat name sticker on the transom?

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f508

f508

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2017
Messages
117
Location
USA
Vessel Name
MaryAnn
Vessel Make
48 DeFever
I am planning on changing the name of the boat I just bought. There are plenty of YouTube videos on how to put the new sticker on, but what is the best way to remove the old one? It is a fiberglass transom.

Thanks in advance!

Frank
 
If its vinyl a heat gun.
If it's painted use oven cleaner..
 
1500 watt hair dryer. But BE CAREFUL not to bubble the underlying painted hull. It's just a couple extra seconds too much and POOF you have a larger job to repair.
 
To expand on the good advice already posted, if you're working with a gelcoat base, you may want to sand the transom after you remove the old name. If your fiberglass is at all oxidized, the old name will leave a high gloss artifact you'll see under the new name. Sanding will insure the surface is uniform.

Wet sand the entire transom with a rubber block and 600 grit, add a few drops of Dawn to your wet sand bucket to keep the paper from loading and provide a little lubricity. Sand in a cross hatch "X" pattern. Wash off the residue, then buff out with a wool pad buffer and gelcoat compound. Final clean with denatured alcohol, then do the application of the new name.

Patience helps!
 
Last edited:
Heat gun and light sand and polish/buff.

Thanks guys!
 
That is the right idea. I must say though that when I bought my sailboat it had lived in SoCal. The prior owner had put a really cheesy vinyl sticker of a mermaid on either side of the bow. After the boat was shipped but before she was splashed, I removed those. I sanded and buffed but the side that sat facing west in her Marina del Rey home could still be seen in the right light.

Patience and a bit more work would have resolved the problem. However, I was anxious to be out sailing.
 
Martin J said:
If its vinyl a heat gun.
If it's painted use oven cleaner..
Click to expand...

cappy208 said:
1500 watt hair dryer. But BE CAREFUL not to bubble the underlying painted hull. It's just a couple extra seconds too much and POOF you have a larger job to repair.
Click to expand...

Maerin said:
To expand on the good advice already posted, if you're working with a gelcoat base, you may want to sand the transom after you remove the old name. If your fiberglass is at all oxidized, the old name will leave a high gloss artifact you'll see under the new name. Sanding will insure the surface is uniform.

Wet sand the entire transom with a rubber block and 600 grit, add a few drops of Dawn to your wet sand bucket to keep the paper from loading and provide a little lubricity. Sand in a cross hatch "X" pattern. Wash off the residue, then buff out with a wool pad buffer and gelcoat compound. Final clean with denatured alcohol, then do the application of the new name.

Patience helps!
Click to expand...

dhays said:
That is the right idea. I must say though that when I bought my sailboat it had lived in SoCal. The prior owner had put a really cheesy vinyl sticker of a mermaid on either side of the bow. After the boat was shipped but before she was splashed, I removed those. I sanded and buffed but the side that sat facing west in her Marina del Rey home could still be seen in the right light.

Patience and a bit more work would have resolved the problem. However, I was anxious to be out sailing.
Click to expand...

Four replies and NOT ONE of you guys who should know better mentioned the hazards of removing and replacing the name without the appropriate recognition of the gods. :D :hide: Please consider conducting the proper ceremony or risk forever wishing you had.
 
That's true. I've owned 4 boats and have never changed the names. Just hailing ports.
 
A razor blade can be really useful for removing decals on a flat surface, combined with moderate heat. You can buy ones with little handles at any hardware store. Agree on the wetsanding suggestions but compound may work as well. It's a matter of degree. Get the decal and all adhesive off first and then tackle it with the minimal amount of abrasive needed.
 
FlyWright said:
Four replies and NOT ONE of you guys who should know better mentioned the hazards of removing and replacing the name without the appropriate recognition of the gods. :D :hide: Please consider conducting the proper ceremony or risk forever wishing you had.
Click to expand...

My thoughts too.
 
The fastest and easiest way is to hire someone. I didn't change her name, just her port and colors. This was one of the few projects I hired out and so happy I did. I do not have a picture of the transom in my computer yet, but it's the same color and font with port underneath.
 

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FlyWright said:
Four replies and NOT ONE of you guys who should know better mentioned the hazards of removing and replacing the name without the appropriate recognition of the gods. :D :hide: Please consider conducting the proper ceremony or risk forever wishing you had.
Click to expand...



I would never knock an excuse to have a drink with friends, but just never have gotten interested in any type of renaming ceremony.

Maybe it is just a matter of picking the ceremony that you like. Back in the day, the Norse would just find a virgin to pee in the bilge. I'll pass that one up as well.
 
Our first boat was a 28' Chris Craft Cavalier with a single 283 gasser. Was purchased new by PO when the reservoir was built here in Jackson in the 60's. PO was President of the Nat Tennis Assoc at the time - boat was named 'Double Fault'. As much as I wanted to appease Neptune and fellow gods, I could not change that name:thumb::thumb:
 
Nothing worked on mine but a pressure washer finally was the trick
 
Our last boat had a 25 year old metal flake tape name on it. When I removed it the gel coat was burned brown. We sanded it quite a bit and the brown would not go away since it was burned in so deep. We finally had the transom painted, end of problem.
 
My engine blew on my Phoenix before the name change. She must have known what I was thinking.
 
Last edited:
Name change - Don't forget a bit of bubbley for the gods

Four replies and NOT ONE of you guys who should know better mentioned the hazards of removing and replacing the name without the appropriate recognition of the gods. :D :hide: Please consider conducting the proper ceremony or risk forever wishing you had.
Click to expand...
:eek:


Not something to snicker at.

I have seen its effects several times.

Can't hurt !

Alfa Mike :thumb:
 
alfamike said:
:eek:


Not something to snicker at.

I have seen its effects several times.

Can't hurt !

Alfa Mike :thumb:
Click to expand...

I would never change a name unless it was named after a person and in that case, I might pass on the boat altogether.
 
Had a similar situation with a 27' Pursuit center console. Polishing, buffing, etc worked to a great extent but I still had a shadow. What worked best was what got me there in the first place which is the sun. Within months the sun faded out the rest of it and nothing could be seen. This was in South Florida where the sun lives though. May take a little longer in other climes.
 
Bio-Solv. We used it to remove the old vinyl letters on our boat, and have given it to a few friends who did theirs. One was using a hair dryer (which was taking forever). Used the Bio-Solv and the rest of the name came off much faster.
 
Google "vinyl eraser wheel". This is what the pro's use.
Here is a video of one in action:

No matter what method you use to remove the name, you'll still have a ghost image of the old name. You can go crazy trying to buff and wax the transom so it matches the ghost or you can just live with it for a while. In a year or less it will have faded to match the rest of the transom.
 
When I google Bio-solve they seem to have quite a range of products. Which on in particular do you use?

Thanks,

Frank
 
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