Hull number removal

[bauerbach46]

I recently purchase a R 25sc from a broker in Washington state. It’s now down in Southern California and of course I had to register the boat in California. And naturally, I have a new hull number and CA stickers to apply. Any tips on removing the old hull numbers without damaging the paint or gel coat?

 

[scross]

I think you mean to say removing state or province registration number, not the hull number. The hull number is built into the hull during production. State registration are usually vinyl numbers applied to the forward area of the hull below the gunwale. Don’t ever try to remove the boat’s hull number!
To remove the vinyl registration number, I’d suggest either fingernails or one of those plastic “razor blades”. Another option is a heat gun set on low temperature. Use goop-off or similar to remove any adhesive residue. Polish area with polishing compound to remove any ghosting of the old numbers. Apply new registration numbers per your states instructions then wax.

 

[bob daily]

You might want to check with ( BigDealSam ) as I remember he was doing the same last December on a R-25 name Almost Heaven! I'm sure he'll let you know what worked or not worked for him.
Good luck
His post was around December in the chat section

 

[bauerbach46]

scross,
Yes, of course, I was referring to my state registration number NOT the HIN. Thanks for clarifying that and also for your removal suggestions. And, bob daily, I'll certainly check back in the archives and see if I can find BigDealSam's post.

Thanks! What a great resource site!!

 

[Rockyman]

The easiest way to remove vinyl registration numbers and old boat names is to use a heat gun to shrivel up the vinyl and then clean the residual adhesive off with denatured alcohol. I have done this with several fiberglass boats and it works well.

 

[bigdealsam]

I recently purchase a R 25sc from a broker in Washington state. It’s now down in Southern California and of course I had to register the boat in California. And naturally, I have a new hull number and CA stickers to apply. Any tips on removing the old hull numbers without damaging the paint or gel coat?

Greetings and Congratulations. This is "bigdealsam" and I did, in fact, purchase a 2012 R25 recently. In my particular case, the previous owner had very large vinyl lettering on the the port side, starboard side and stern along with the State registration numbers and annual sticker on both sides. In short, it was a real chore to get the stickers removed however we finally got er done. Getting the stickers removed is the easy part. No real skill involved.
We used a low temp heat gun along with a plastic credit card with a fine edge. (I feared a razor blade would scratch the gelcoat) We also used a healthy amount of goo be gone and removed the stickers slowly. Eventually they come off.

Now the hard part. To remove the "shadowing effect" of the previous stickers required several hours of Rubbing Compound (Number 7 as I remember) along with a very fine wet sandpaper and a LOT of elbow grease. Although I am not completely satisfied with the result, the vast majority of the shadow has been eliminated. To be perfectly honest, I can still faintly see it if I know where to look. Also, I got a bit ambitious with the sandpaper in a place or two and left a little scarring of the gelcoat but overall it is much, much, much better than it was.

There are several YouTube videos on the subject and I would certainly recommend a viewing to 3 prior. Or you can just fly me out to San Diego and I will supervise. lol Best of luck and Kind Regards, Sam Baker, Mooresville NC

 

[Martin610]

One option you can consider is a decal remover wheel. This gets chucked into your drill. Worked well for me as my vessel had been state registered previously and now its a federally documented vessel. I had to get the state numbers off. Here's the link to amazon to give you the idea. You can probably get it at an auto parts store.

https://www.amazon.com/ABN-Rubber-Erase ... pons&psc=1

-martin

 

[BaylorU]

Plastic razor blades are wonderful and won’t scratch your gel (or glass or most anything else)! Good thing to keep on hand. About $6 on Amazon for a few dozen.
K