Paint removal question

[LetsRock]

A buddy of mine just bought a 1987 Sea Ray 250. The previous boat owner painted the boat name on the transom over the trim paint from the factory. My buddy has been told that Easy Off worked best to remove the paint on the name but he is concerned it might damaged the factory trim paint. Anyone have any experience with this. The name of the boat is the previous owner's daughter's name so as you can imagine my buddy (and more so his wife) is anxious to get it off quickly.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Well, what works on the painted name will also work on the trim paint. However, are you sure the trim is paint and not a vinyl sticker? Of course, unless you know for sure that the trim is from the factory, anything could have been done over the years.

Take it off and see what happens. You can always remove the trim back to an inconspicuous spot and either leave it as is or repair.

Have you seen the 3M Eraser Tool? That might be an option to help remove the name w/o disturbing the trim too much. I've used that tool and it works VERY well on vinyl stickers - but I've never used it on paint.

 

[Bob & Sue]

There are several ways to remove paint but all of them will remove the trim paint the easiest would be to use acetone and a good pair of chemical gloves goof off will work sherwin williams carries a product called oops that works well. You'll need to wax that area after removing the paint. Maybe somebody else knows of something better but I've tried a lot of products.

 

[LetsRock]

Well, what works on the painted name will also work on the trim paint. However, are you sure the trim is paint and not a vinyl sticker? Of course, unless you know for sure that the trim is from the factory, anything could have been done over the years.

Take it off and see what happens. You can always remove the trim back to an inconspicuous spot and either leave it as is or repair.

Have you seen the 3M Eraser Tool? That might be an option to help remove the name w/o disturbing the trim too much. I've used that tool and it works VERY well on vinyl stickers - but I've never used it on paint.

This isnt his boat but the name is painted on the blue portion of the transom shown in this picture.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Ah... No worries, then. That is gelcoat.

 

[LetsRock]

Ah... No worries, then. That is gelcoat.

Sorry for the confusion. So he is good to go with Easy Off or any other product mentioned here?

 

[Lazy Daze]

Yup - have at it. The worst that will happen is that you dull the gel a little. But that will come right back with a little light compound/polish in just a few minutes. Acetone is fine - I've used it many times, but that one is more likely to dull the surface than the others. Not saying that to tell you don't use it - just FYI.

 

[LetsRock]

Yup - have at it. The worst that will happen is that you dull the gel a little. But that will come right back with a little light compound/polish in just a few minutes. Acetone is fine - I've used it many times, but that one is more likely to dull the surface than the others. Not saying that to tell you don't use it - just FYI.

Thank you very much for all your help!!

 

[Lazy Daze]

No problem!

 

[Two Screwed]

I had the same problem when I got my boat a few months back. "Family Cruiser II" didn't fit my boating genre being a single guy. The name paint that was used on mine came off without any gelcoat damage by using "Soft Scrub" bathroom cleaner although the paint used was obviously old and pretty dull already. I stumbled across a partial bottle of the stuff left on board from the PO. It took a little elbow grease but it came off well and kind of gave the gelcoat a nice shine afterwards. I added a little wax after the job for protection. Oven Cleaner seems a bit harsh to start off with in my opinion.

 

[sbw1]

You will need to wet sand the transom after you remove the paint. The name will likely remain as a shadow unless you sand the gel coat. Then polish; then wax.