Removing Old Decals

I have an Alumacraft F7 that must have spent most of its life outside uncovered, the factory decals are faded and peeling off.

When the weather cools off and I'm not using the boat I'd like to strip the decals off and apply new ones that will be quite a bit smaller, unless I can get OEM replacements, which I doubt.

I'm worried that after stripping them off the area underneath will be shiny, in stark contrast to the patina on the rest of the boat, ultimately leading me to polish the whole boat. What are the best products and methods for doing this?

I wouldn't mind painting it, but one side of the boat is dented up pretty badly, I don't think it would look good? Anyone ever painted over dents? Hammering them out would be a job.

I wouldn't mind painting it, but one side of the boat is dented up pretty badly, I don't think it would look good?

Click to expand...

if you don't mind dents on the unpainted side, what makes you think that paint will make it look worse ??
yes, you can paint over dents with no problem. clean, prep, etch and prime as required.

Decal Removal:
electric heat gun and scrapers
rubber wheel in a drill (vinyl eraser)
steamer such as a wallpaper steamer
liquid adhesive removers for residual decal glue

and yes, the metal under the decals are not as oxidized as the rest of the boat and will
definitely be shinier than the surrounding metal.
mechanical polishing may be required to match it all up.

your local vinyl sticker sign shop can probably make up some new decals to cover the affected area.
this would be your chance to personalize your boat with custom made decals to cover the shiny spot.

photos of what you have would be interesting


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I use the heat gun and just peel off the sticker without using a scraper. Then using a quality wax and grease remover wash off the glue residue.

This is the kind of result that you can expect:



As others have said, a heat gun or hair dryer to soften the decal adhesive, but use denatured alcohol before and after the heating and peeling. The alcohol together with the heat helps the removal of the decal, and is very effective in removing the residual adhesive. It is usually necessary to rub off the residue with a denatured alcohol soaked cloth. Over rubbing will remove the oxidized paint but have minimal impact on the paint under the decal.

Denatured alcohol and a heat gun was used to remove the decals that were over the thick paint in the picture. BTW, initially the paint under the old number decals was glossy, but after one summer in the sun, the 34 year old shiny paint that was under the decal is starting to fade out.

=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>

If you don't own a heat gun, you can always try your wife's hair drier. A heat gun is better ...Harbor Freight has an inexpensive one for sale.

Also, a pretty good glue remover is, believe it or not, WD 40.
I've used it many times.

This is not my boat but has the same decals.

I do have a heat gun.

I may strip them off and try to recreate the blue/red stripes with paint, then buy a couple of alumacraft decals and stick them on.

I had my best results with a heat gun and careful scraping then cleaned up the reside with acetone. Had intentions of getting new decals but decided I liked the hull better with out.