Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by Fishwisperer on 04/26/10 - 12:45 PM

I am in the final stages of restoring my 15Ft Whaler and she looks great. I purchased new decals. I removed the old ones with a heat gun and plastic scrapper, but it left a "glue Shadow". I have tried "GOO GONE" but it does not work. What will take this off without hurting the gel-coat?

Posted by Zamboni65 on 04/26/10 - 12:47 PM

A very little bit of spray oven cleaner (not the lemon) put it on and take it off right away. Then polish the spot.

Posted by Zamboni65 on 04/26/10 - 1:19 PM

I race sailboats and we always have to put numbers on the bows for identification. Most of the time it is sticky back cloth but sometimes you use a sharpie. Just don't leave the oven cleaner on long. It is better to do it a few time than to leave it on long.
Never use the lemon as it will leave a yellow mark.

Posted by HarleyFXDL on 04/26/10 - 1:30 PM

I would assume you would need to clean the area prior to installing the new stickers. Not sure what would be the best cleaner to use on gel coat.

Posted by MW on 04/26/10 - 3:21 PM

What I do:
I use 100 % silicone spray (hdwr. store). It melts the adhesive glue right off without hurting anything. Then I wash the area with water and "Bon Ami" (has'nt scratched yet) cleanser, rinse. I put about a teaspoonful of Dawn dishwashing detergent with cool water in a spray bottle and spray the area the decal is to be applied, spray fingers and hands, and decal, get everything really soaking wet. Then I apply the decal to the wet hull. If I mess something up (crooked decal), I can still move the decal around on the hull to correct it. Let dry over night, and let everyone marvel on how "Perfect" you got it on one shot.

Posted by mattgeiger on 04/26/10 - 4:08 PM

I have great success with Goo Gone. Key is to blot it with a soaked rag and let it sit. after 10 min go back with a dry towel and rub like crazy. The glue rolls off once you get the right rhythm. I just did the decals on my 86 and de-badged my Sequoia.

I use a degreaser - Simple Green or Purple Power to prep the area. Follow the water advice above. I let my decals dry with backing paper attached for 24 hours before peeling off the paper. Another 24 hours passed and I waxed.

Edited by mattgeiger on 04/26/10 - 4:09 PM

Posted by CES on 04/26/10 - 6:48 PM

Kevin,

To answer your question, no. If you use his mehod and use a squeegy or something similiar to squeeze the water out, the decals will adhere just fine. I used that technique when I applied new Whaler decals on my boat.

Posted by Fishwisperer on 04/28/10 - 7:18 AM

#10

Thank you all for the tips. I will try this wekend and let you know what works. 2 decals so I may experiment.

Posted by JohnnyCW on 04/28/10 - 1:20 PM

#11

CES wrote:
Kevin,

To answer your question, no. If you use his mehod and use a squeegy or something similiar to squeeze the water out, the decals will adhere just fine. I used that technique when I applied new Whaler decals on my boat.

Its also the standard method used by sign and graphics professionals.

Posted by Fishwisperer on 05/03/10 - 12:58 PM

#12

Thanks for all the suggestions. Just thought I would get back to you all. After removing the decals with heat gun and plastic scrapper, the remaining glueshadow wa attacked with several methods that were suggested. Gloo-gone was the least effective. The easiest technique was the oven cleaner. I lso tried
some other glue removing products, simple green and acetone.
Now, next weekend I will apply the new ones using the soapy water spray technique that was suggested.
I will try to post some pics. The boat looks great!!
Thanx for all the help