Removing old decals and numbers

[musky hunter]

I just bought a "new" to me boat. Since I bought an out of state boat, I'll need to redo the registrations decal and numbers. Does anyone have any ideas on how to remove the old stuff without marring the boat surface?

[Gus]

a couple of ways I've used in the past.

Good old elbo grease with some "Goo Gone"

It's a citrus based liquid so it should not hurt anything.

I've also used a thin razor blade and held it almost flat to the surface to "peel" or "shave" the stickers off. If you are carefull you should not gouge or scrape anything. I used that method to take the dealership stickers off my new truck. I never left a mark. Time and patience will pay off.

Good luck and congrats on the new rig.

[Yukon Don]

Muskey Hunter,

Boating supply magazines sell "Decal on" and "Decal off" solutions in bottles.

Yukon Don

[ChuckN]

I had to remove a lot of decals off my boat. A hairdryer and fingernails worked best without risk of hurting/scratching the gel coat.

[IFallsRon]

After you've used the hair dryer to losen the stickers from the glue, spray WD40 on the area and clean up with towel after a few minutes. Acetone on a towel cleans up the residue. Clean the area with soap and water and wax before installing the new numbers.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Heat gun would be my first plan of attack. There are also razor blades made out of plastic that work pretty good for removing pinstriping and other vynil applications without the chance of gauging the paint. 3M makes a pinstripe and decal removing disk that attaches to a high speed drill/angle grinder. They are pretty slick, theres just enough abrasion to take off the sticker but not enough to damage the paint. Any parts store that supplies a body shop would have all this and more.

[GullGuide]

Hair dryer and goo-gone works wonders. Recently removed a few large decals on my truck and it was 15 degrees outside...no more decals!!

Good luck!

[Moose-Hunter]

Apply a bit of heat... Hair dryer or heat gun at a low setting removes the sticker and the bulk of the adhesive... and then Goo Gone removes what ever is left...

Gullguide nailed it. HIGHLY recommended!!