Help removing painted on boat lettering

[oregoncruiser]

So I recently purcahed a new to me boat. This boat shines, and is beautiful. Problem is it has painted on liscense lettering from another state. I have tried a couple of items on test areas and am not happy with the result.

I tried a glass stove top cleaner with a kitchen sink sponge with a coarse side. With scrubbing it took off the paint, but also dulled the luster of the boat. So I then waxed that area to see if it would buff back up. It was better, but I could see the area was dulled. I then tried mineral spirits with a cloth followed by super fine steel wool. Same results.

In a search on this forum I found an old thread that suggested a product called citristrip. The thread was from 2002, LOL!! So any suggestions?? Or am I just doomed to have some dull areas?

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Help removing painted on boat lettering

You should have posted the question before you went at it on your own.Now that you have scratched your gelcoat do it the right way.Get some rubbing compound,some polishing compound,some polish and some wax.Using a polishing wheel(you need the rpms).Start with the rubbing compound until he painted #s are gone.Dont miss any of the area that you have scratched,overlap.Follow up with polishing compound and follow up with polish and finish with wax.Keep the polishing wheel moving ALL THE TIME.NEVER keep it in the same place.Charlie

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: Help removing painted on boat lettering

If regular compounding and waxing doesn't do the trick, wet sand it! There are many threads on here about restoring gel coating by wet-sanding. After wet sanding you will want to compound and wax.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Help removing painted on boat lettering

I have used citris based removers a number of times to remove several layers of aftermarket paint from factory paint on bicycles. The factory paint was so nice afterwords
I kept it on parts of the bikes.I sprayed off the the stripper with a garden hose and rubbed the remains off with a terri rag and a little additional stripper if necessary.
Of course try it somewhere it won't be seen first.

 

[oregoncruiser]

Re: Help removing painted on boat lettering

Appreciate the tips guys. Gonna be in town later today and will pick up a few things to continue the project.

 

[woosterken]

Re: Help removing painted on boat lettering

easy off oven cleaner

woosterken

 

[rte592]

Re: Help removing painted on boat lettering

easy off oven cleaner

woosterken

There it is The Easy Off Oven Cleaner Method

I used the Easy Off Oven cleaner Method on the last 3 boats.....Fixing to do it again this week on my new to me boat.
Easy Off and a plastic Bondo scraper
IF I can I'll take some before and after pictures.

It does leave the gell a tad dull, but what the heck IT"S not a show boat and new numbers are going right over the top.
The last boat was even painted and the Easy Off worked great.......just take your time and dont leave it on too long.....FYI tape up the area around the numbers and especially under the numbered area as the Easy Off removes the paint and drips down

Had some luck with removing spray paint with Fast Orange hand cleaner (also dulls the paint a bit)

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Help removing painted on boat lettering

Try some acetone. Sometimes the paint will be removed by it, and it won't hurt the gelcoat.

 

[dlngr]

Re: Help removing painted on boat lettering

The only method I see here worth trying is the Easy Off-and- buy that brand,not a generic. If that doesn't work,wet sand with some 1000 grit on a sanding block.

 

[halfmoa]

Re: Help removing painted on boat lettering

We've had great results with Easy Off to take off sponsor names on our racecar. They were painted over the clearcoat and came off very easily.

Wasn't there another thread about a month and a half ago where someone ripped into another guy for mentioning the Easy Off method???

 

[Don S]

Re: Help removing painted on boat lettering

This thread was brought back from the dead by a spammer that was deleted.

 

[cyclops2]

Re: Help removing painted on boat lettering

Thanks Don.

Rich