Re: Pin Stripe removal Decal Removal
That seems like a great tool , I will be picking one those up here in Texas plenty of Napa stores around.
It has gel coat on the hull, not sure exactly what method I will pick yet, seems like I have 2 options.
Kinda scared I might mess something up if I wet sand. Chriscraft you have any pictures of your work?
I don't have any pics of the actual stripe removal, I did it with a heat gun and a razor. Don't be scared of wet sanding gel coating. If you want, try a small section on the stern or something. I bet you are pleasantly surprised.
Blue and red hulls are notoriously bad in the sun. They seem to oxidize quiker than other colored gel coatings for some reason.
Something I failed to mention, is you can try a hull restore compound before the wet sanding. Starbright, woody's, 3m. There are many off them.
If you follow the directions I gave you, you will be fine. Just remember Less is more! Start with the 1000 grit wet sand paper and see how it goes. The 600 grit will cut it faster but if its not needed, there is no reason to use it. Look at it this way, if it doesn't work, you would want to wet sand it before you painted anyway. You don't want to paint over oxidezed gel coating.
Gel coating is usually thicker than paint. The sides will be less thick than the bottom and stern usually. Just be careful around the edges where it may be a little thinner. You will see when you wet sand, you are taking off very little of the gel coating. You are basically just removing the oxidation.
When you are done with the wet sanding, your hull will already be shiny. The wax really is just used then for a protectant. From the looks of your hull it just looks like it wasn't maitained properly. If you keep the boat waxed and clean it will not oxidize.
Here is a pic of my 1990 hull after the fact. This was after wet sanding, compounding and waxing. I only used 1000 grit, nothing coarser because mine didn't need it. I will try and find some more pics.
