Getting rid of license decals

TinBoats.net

Help Support TinBoats.net:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

WaltonsMountain

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 8, 2009
Messages
54
Reaction score
0
What's the best way to get these off? I'm taking the whole boat down to bare aluminum through a sanding process, but the sander won't touch the decals. I heard heat is a good method. Just wondering what is the quickest/easiest ways to get these old nasty license decals off my boat so I can get back to sanding. :) Thanks!
 
Aircraft stripper...

I'd strip a hull before sanding it to get most of the paint off or at least delaminated. My hull had almost 40 stickers on each side plus the numbers. PO didn't like the gated comunity that he lived in that required a community sticker and a year sticker on the boat so he put each new sticker in a different location. Check it out;

06-29-08_1533.jpg



Jamie
 
stripper and saran wrap in the hot sun... put the striper on, then put the saran wrap on so that it doesn't dry out so quickly... that should peel them and the paint right off
 
What if you want to take off the numbers but leave the paint on? Heat gun? I need to take the TN numbers off mine and put MS numbers on (or MI for some reason for Mississippi... Why did they use MI instead of MS??? And Michigan is MC instead of MI. WEIRD...)
 
I've always just used a putty knife (carefully) and then something to cut the leftover glue.

Heat works pretty well so long as you don't get it too hot. I would err on the side of caution and use a hair dryer instead of a heat gun if you don't want to bubble the paint.
 
Method #1

Heat the bumper sticker with a hair dryer or heat gun until the glue underneath softens and then try peeling it off. If you do this in the summer, let the vehicle sit in the hot sun for about half an hour first, speeds up the process. If you can’t park near an outlet to use a hair dryer and don’t have a heat gun, try pouring boiling water over the sticker to get that glue underneath melted and loosened up enough to pull off the sticker.
Method #2

Saturate the bumper sticker really well with WD40, or lighter fluid, or white vinegar and allow to sit for a few minutes then try to remove*
*First test a small area where it won’t be noticed to make sure the vehicle’s paint job won’t be damaged or discolored.

Once you’ve removed the sticker, you’ll find a glue residue left on the vehicle. Keep heating that glue with a hair dryer and rub it off with mineral spirits or a vinegar soaked cloth. You can also try WD40 to get rid of the residue or use a commercial product like Goo Gone.

Once you’ve completed the job, wipe the area well with a hot, soapy cloth to remove the solvent (if any was used).
 
Your going to bare metal anyway so paint is not a problem for you.

Get a gasket scraper, one that holds the single sided razor blades and just scrape them off. I have taken them off without damaging the paint at all below them, and your not worried so just scrape the silly things off.

Bufford in Orlando
 
if you want to try and save the paint...use ez off oven cleaner ...not as lethal as aircraft stripper but should wrinkle up the stickers so you could scrape them off...
 

Latest posts

Top