Removing Vinyl Stripe, Painted Hull

[Captain Anthony]

Ahoy, here is a twist on a post I eagerly read yesterday.
My hull is painted. I need to remove a vinyl stripe from the entire length of the hull. I do not know what type of paint was used to paint the hull.

I would be very grateful for your suggestions.
Thank you,
Captain Anthony

[tkeithlu]

Consider: Lift one end with a blade. Heat the vinyl ahead of the lifted end, and peel it off. A heat gun is the best choice. A propane torch will do, but must be used with extreme caution.

[Lake-Effect]

yeah, heat gun. The idea is that you heat the tape enough for its adhesive to release, but not so much that it softens the paint. Work slowly, move the heat gun a lot.

I've removed a vinyl boot-stripe this way with no issues, but that was from gelcoat.

A warning that if the paint was inferior or poorly-applied, some of the adhesive might have already bonded to it and some paint lift may still occur.

[Captain Anthony]

Thank you, what do you all recommend I use to get the glue and residue off of the painted hull?

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Captain Anthony

Thank you, what do you all recommend I use to get the glue and residue off of the painted hull?

If the paint is good and hard (eg Interlux) you can usually use Varsol to remove tape residue without it removing paint. Don't scrub too hard and use a soft cloth.

[Rumrace]

Hairdryer don’t tell your wife.
No buy a new one for the wife.

[tkeithlu]

You might be able to get away with a hair dryer. This heatgun is 1800 watts:

https://www.amazon.com/SEEKONE-Heat-...0543225&sr=8-5

This hair dryer is 1875 watts:

https://www.amazon.com/Revlon-1875W-...s%2C263&sr=8-6

But, a heat gun will concentrate more of its heat in a small space, given that the hair drying people don't want to burn a hole in the side of someone's head. If you are in the position of buying something, as opposed to risking banishment to the dog house for "borrowing" a hair dryer from your soon to not be so significant other, I recommend that you buy a heat gun. They cost about the same.

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

You might be able to get away with a hair dryer. This heatgun is 1800 watts:

https://www.amazon.com/SEEKONE-Heat-...0543225&sr=8-5

This hair dryer is 1875 watts:

https://www.amazon.com/Revlon-1875W-...s%2C263&sr=8-6

But, a heat gun will concentrate more of its heat in a small space, given that the hair drying people don't want to burn a hole in the side of someone's head. If you are in the position of buying something, as opposed to risking banishment to the dog house for "borrowing" a hair dryer from your soon to not be so significant other, I recommend that you buy a heat gun. They cost about the same.

Heat guns may be cheaper than hair dryers, Harbour Freight sells it for $17.
And you can keep it to do your wiring heat shrinks when required. No need to get involved in matrimonial arguments.

[JPA Cate]

Hi, Captain Anthony,

Were you aware that the paint underneath the stripe will be visible after you remove the stripe, it will appear brighter and shinier than the paint which has been exposed to the elements. I don't know if it will bother you or not, but the "ghost" of our boat's previous name showing bothered me till we painted the hull.

A hairdryer or heatgun will loosen the glue, and usually plain turpentine will remove the bits of glue that didn't come along with the vinyl.

Ann