mjoplin
Member
I have a 2005 280DA and the exterior "Sundancer" decals were looking pretty bad. I finally broke down and got some replacements. While at it, I also decided to compound & wax, along with the decal treatment to get her looking like new again. After a bit of research I tackled the job.
Removal:
The 3m pinstripe removal wheel is awesome. I found several recommendations for it here and bought one off of Amazon. Put in a cordless drill and it pulled all the old decals off without a trace. Very easy to use, no scratches to the gelcoat. It's like an old typewriter eraser on steroids!
The decals - I found these on eBay. The seller, Shabestari, makes decals for a ton of vintage boats, outboards, etc. He was easy to work with and reasonably priced. His info is here on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/usr/shabestari I used the wet application method using a spray bottle of water/ivory soap and a plastic squeegee. The directions with the decals were pretty straight forward and they sent a couple of small practice decals to practice with before placing the Sundancer decal.
The results:
The finished product after a 3-pass process with Turtlewax polishing compound, 3m glaze, and Garry's Royal Satin wax. I love being able to see the reflection of the hanging fender in the gelcoat up near the bow. Made her look like a new boat again... I am very pleased with the end result!
Removal:
The 3m pinstripe removal wheel is awesome. I found several recommendations for it here and bought one off of Amazon. Put in a cordless drill and it pulled all the old decals off without a trace. Very easy to use, no scratches to the gelcoat. It's like an old typewriter eraser on steroids!
The decals - I found these on eBay. The seller, Shabestari, makes decals for a ton of vintage boats, outboards, etc. He was easy to work with and reasonably priced. His info is here on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/usr/shabestari I used the wet application method using a spray bottle of water/ivory soap and a plastic squeegee. The directions with the decals were pretty straight forward and they sent a couple of small practice decals to practice with before placing the Sundancer decal.
The results:
The finished product after a 3-pass process with Turtlewax polishing compound, 3m glaze, and Garry's Royal Satin wax. I love being able to see the reflection of the hanging fender in the gelcoat up near the bow. Made her look like a new boat again... I am very pleased with the end result!
