Taking graphic decals off the hull, need suggestions

[Novak7669]

so im really thinking about taking the graphics off the hull of my boat because there are scratches in certain areas and it looks like the guy that had the boat before me had the boat in the water and a fender faded an area. the boat is a 93' so im not sure if it will look extrememly bad taking it off the hull or do i wet sand it and buff it out maybe it will blend in. ive done it in the past taking names of boats off of transoms but i dont wanna take it off and then u see the entire outline of where it used to be. any suggestions or ideas?

255930

[inspectorlance]

I bet you will have to wet sand the entire boat to make it match. It is going to be a brighter white under the decal. It is not under the decal that will need the wet sanding its the rest of the boat. I would sugjest remove and replace the decal, maybe a slightly larger one so that install will be easy. Good luck

[Novak7669]

yea the boat came with a decal on the top front of the boat and the previous owner took it off and i definitely noticed the difference in color. i wet sanded it yesterday with 1000 grit and i buffed it out with aqua buff 2000. that stuff works amazing!!!!! the boat honestly looks brand new now. the only other thing thats bothering me is the bottom paint on the boat. the previous owner scraped most of it off but there is still a residue on the bottom. now im thinking about buying one of those 5 inch orbital sanders and ill wet the bottom to wet sand it but im not sure whats the lowest grit i should use to remove this residue safely without destroying the bottom of the boat.. any opinions?

[hemi2005]

1500 would have been my guess, but if 1000 worked on the top I'd go with that.

[Novak7669]

1500 would have been my guess, but if 1000 worked on the top I'd go with that.i tried the 1000 grit on a 2 ft section towards the bow and it seemed to come off pretty easy with a sanding block and some elbow grease. the sander would make things much easier im definitley going to get one, the only issue is i cant find 1000 grit sand paper that goes on the oribital sander the highest i seen at home depot was 320 grit and im certainly not using that. ill rip the bottom right off the boat with that

[Novak7669]

i know they use the orbital sanders on boats with 1000 + grit at boat yards so if anyone knows of a supply house somewhere in long island ny or even a website where i can order them that would be awsome! i really appreciate the help guys! this forum is awsome

[Novak7669]

i know they use the orbital sanders on boats with 1000 + grit at boat yards so if anyone knows of a supply house somewhere in long island ny or even a website where i can order them that would be awsome! i really appreciate the help guys! this forum is awsome

[hemi2005]

You may have to get a DA sander in order to get the higher grit paper. If you do, get a wet/dry sander.

[captadhos]

Heat gun to remove the old decals and wet sand the area. It works every time!

[rev.ronnie]

Use lots of water when sanding. 1000 grit paper will point load almost instantly otherwise.

A 3M rep told me once, if the paper says wet/dry, that means WET.