Tip for removing vinyl lettering

LaRea

I wanted to share an effective way to remove weathered vinyl lettering from gelcoat surfaces.  The easy part is removing the vinyl: just warm it with a blowdryer, and peel off slowly.  The problem is how to safely remove the leftover adhesive.  Here's what I did:

1) Saturate a paper towel with Goo Gone, and rub over all adhesive areas until they are coated with the solvent.

2) Wait 2-3 minutes for adhesive to soften. When you can easily scrape the adhesive with your fingernail, it is ready.

3) The secret weapon: get a white plastic bottle cap from a water bottle.  Use it to gently scrub in a circular motion over the adhesive areas.  The edges of the bottle cap are sharp enough to remove the adhesive, but the plastic will not damage the gelcoat.  Bonus -- the adhesive tends to collect inside the bottle cap, leaving a nice, easy-to-remove ball of adhesive.

My boat had a 40"x20" vinyl graphic that was seven years old.  It left a huge gummy mess of adhesive.  I was ready to spend hours removing it, but I was done in five minutes.

Michael T

Another great adhesive remover is called Solvo-Plast. It may go under different names but many pharmacies stock it. It is a medical grade adhesive remover used in hospitals to remove adhesive bandages and strps form injured patients. This product has passed super stringent testing to not cause allergic reactions to peoples skin yet it removes tough adhesives. I keep a couple of bottles and have used it for years (two physicians in my family) it has never marred any surface. For really big jobs I'd definately use Goo B Gone but for any delicate area I'd use this product. About $7 for 100ml. MT

frenchship

There is also an eraser that goes to the end of a power drill, most body shop supply store have those and it is safe on clear coat and gelcoat. Paul

Babyboomer

Try easy off oven cleaner. Let it soak a couple hours. Will take vinyl decals off. . Also a good bug remover on chrome but, DO NOT get it on polished aluminum. 

Cableguy Greg

I used acetone.