Just for the hull of it
 

I’ve got my 2006 NH registration stickers ready to place on the hull. The problem is, do I slap this sticker on top of the stack or do I remove them all before I put on the new ones? I’ve got over a dozen haphazardly stacked on top of each other and I don’t know when enough is enough.

What is the best and easiest way to remove the old registration stickers?

I would be afraid to use a razor scraper for fear of damaging the finish of the boat.

Do I warm them with a heat gun or blow dryer and peal them off?

Is there a solvent to use? Maybe fatlazyless knows if Wally-mart sells something cheap for this?

Should I consider getting this done by the service folks at the marina?

Or do I just have to buy a new boat and start the stack again? (if so, how do I convince my wife that this is the way to go :liplick: ?)

What do you do and what do you suggest?

Well Skipper -- the answer is obvious -- If you have that many stickers on the hull it's obviously time for a new boat. This is one of the easiest excuses to get past the wife "Honey, there's no more room for the registration stickers - time to go shopping" :look:

Sorry -- couldn't resist (me bad).

As I've never experianced that dilemna, I'll leave it to someone who has gone through it to answer - but I would think that a razor near the lower levels (not the hull) and a lot of patience - because they are designed to flake off once applied - would do the trick. You might not get a perfectly flat surface, but one you can work with.

We'll see what the experts chime in with.

Al,

I finally took my stack off this fall. I had about 5 and found that I could peel most of the stack off rather easily. The pieces left behind came off with a bit of effort using a fingernail. Or you could just put the new one over the pieces.

I found that most of the stickers will come off pretty easy.If you cleaned the surface before you put the first one on,it will probably give you a hard time.Do not use a razor unless you don't mind scraching the hell out of your hull.I have had good succes using a heat gun (carefull not to burn your boat!) and a stiff plastic scraper like those used for auto body repair work.You could also substitute a plastic kitchen spatula or the like.To get the leftover glue I used glue remover or some other type of solvent.

sticky stickers.....
 

I second the advice SIKSUKR gives, you don't want to use a razor blade on gelcoat unless you have a very steady hand and lots of practice.

A hairdryer will really soften things up and make it a lot easier to remove the decals, if you don't have access to a heat gun.

By the way, a really good solvent to use to remove any leftover residue is the classic american standby, WD-40!

Spray some WD-40 on the crap left behind and rub the gunk off with a piece of old towel.

The WD-40 is harmless to gelcoat but really removes old adhesive!

Good luck....

Skip

Skip's right. We've always had good success removing the old decals using a hair dryer. The heat softens the adhesive just enough to make it easy to slowly peel off the old decal(s) in one piece.

Prepare to bs shocked by how nice the gelcoat looks under the first sticker. You'll want a new boat...

olde stickers
 

If you have ever tossed a paint thinner soaked paper towel into a wood stove then you know that it immediately flames and roars, big time! With that in mind, I'd go with a heat gun and a sharp razor blade scraper, and keep the paint thinner or wd-40 way far away from a heat gun.

Lots of olde stickers all piled up, sort of remind me of some experienced warrant officer with all those hash marks on the sleeve.

"Goo-Gone" also cleans glue up great, it's available in most any store. Ususlly a good layer of stickers peel off pretty easily.

One of my favorite tools
 

is 1/2 of a wooden clothespin. After softening up the decals with a hair dryer, I use the "sharp" end of the clothespin to scrape off the remainder without harming the gelcoat. It's pretty much a once-a-year tool that sits in my toolbox.

What's a "clothes pin?" :laugh:

What's a clothes pin [sic]
 

http://www.oldenburgvanbruggen.com/clothespin.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Clothespin.jpg

Interesting that when looking at "other uses" for clothespins, scraping registration stickers is not on the list. Information about wooden clothespins Surprised to see what is on the list. I also wondered how to remove those stickers. I'm not sure I can envision how the sharp edge (mine are all rounded blunt) of 1/2 a wood clothespin would work.

Sandy

Somebody Twist His Arm!
 

Al.....Buy the boat! Too many stickers time for an upgrade!...Hell I'd buy it .:D