Adhesive removal

[SirJohn]

Good morning, I have undertaken the project of removing an old 2 inch wide adhesive pin stripe around our sundeck sides. I have been using the heat gun to remove it. I still have the top of the sundeck overhead to complete
What is the best and fastest way to remove the adhesive?
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipO3EE8qcq5CeI1-1sCFTwWaiPkZjBBE6x_Q2eD7

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetingsm
Mr. SJ. Is the substrate gelcoat or paint?

 

[SirJohn]

Gelcoat

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. SJ. Being gelcoat you have less worry of any solvents removing the finish. You might try a variety. Acetone, xylol/xylene, lacquer thinner or one of the proprietary solvents (Goo Gone or the like). Strangely, WD40 sometimes works.



Whatever you DO use is most likely to remove any wax so a re-wax will be necessary.

 

[Genecop]

Reach for the cooking oil next time you want to remove sticker residue. Dab any oil—olive, canola, sunflower, or another type—onto a paper towel, then lay that towel over the gunk that refuses to budge. Wait a few minutes while the oil works to dissolve the stubborn glue.

 

[bluebyu]

This thread has many suggestions:
http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/name-change-vinyl-lettering-adhesive-removal-43381.html

 

[Russell Clifton]

3M makes a product specifically for this job. Called adhesive remover. Comes in a quart can. Works very well.

 

[jleonard]

Wd-40

 

[stanfromhell]

i used a heat gun, chemicals etc and spent hours making a total mess.
Then I discovered a rubber disc used by bodyshops to remove vinyl decals from cars and trucks and with the disc mounted in my 18V portable drill I had the name on the stern and the striping on both sides of my Bayliner 4788 removed in an incredibly short time. It removes the adhesive as well and leaves a nice clean surface. Price is about $20. from an auto supply store like NAPA or Autozone I believe it is made by 3M

 

[HopCar]

i used a heat gun, chemicals etc and spent hours making a total mess.
Then I discovered a rubber disc used by bodyshops to remove vinyl decals from cars and trucks and with the disc mounted in my 18V portable drill I had the name on the stern and the striping on both sides of my Bayliner 4788 removed in an incredibly short time. It removes the adhesive as well and leaves a nice clean surface. Price is about $20. from an auto supply store like NAPA or Autozone I believe it is made by 3M

Google vinyl eraser. Lots of them on the market. They work very well.

 

[Northern Spy]

A too have used a vinyl eraser with decent results. Careful if you have paint. It can burn it. I still find that a heat gun and razor blade (and sometimes a third hand) works well on fiberglass. Can often get vinyl off in one piece once you get the temperature just right. Just so it is soft and slightly stretchy. I find the chemical adhesive removers work well on the residue, but often can't get under the vinyl very well.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. SJ. While something like Mr. HC and others have posted might work I would strongly caution against using any power tools unless you were very skilled in their use or had a VERY steady hand. One slip and you may mar the finish causing more problems than you have now. Don't ask how I know....

 

[stanfromhell]

Dont bash something unless you have used it and had a problem.
This disc is made of rubber for god's sake and is manufactured specifically for removing vinyl decals. it is not going to damage gelcoat unless you hold the disc with both hands and allow the drill to spin round and round and bash the boat.

 

[Capitaine R]

Dinghy Rub Rail Glue

We are in the process of removing the glue from the rub rail section of a new to us Hypalon dinghy. This rub rail has been repaired in the past but I believe they tried to use some kind of construction glue for the repair. The dinghy is in great shape otherwise. I have tried several different kinds of solvents with not much success. We have just started using the Smart Erasers with much better luck and it is much faster. The eraser will remove 70% of the glue on the first pass, then we go over it with a sponge soaked with acetone and return with the eraser which gets most of the remaining glue off. The pictures show what was removed in 10 minutes time.

 

[Sea Word]

I always use wd40 to start and get more aggressive as needed. I’ve never seen it hurt a finish and it has a little more “heat” to it than regular oil.