Removing Boat Letters may seem like a daunting task- but fear not because Lettering on the Cheap has your back with 3 simple methods to remove your boat letters in just a mere few minutes. We’ll be discussing these simple methods based on the complexity and type of problem you may be facing when removing your boat letters.
For starters, boat letters are typically crafted from a vinyl material. Vinyl material can be developed into a number of different products, with various factors attributing to how well they’re holding up, or not. For the following instructions, pretty much any of these guidelines should apply.
Letters with Curling
Your most standard problem with old vinyl and the easiest to remove would be curled vinyl lettering. The great news is this makes it also the easiest to remove. Using a plastic chisel with an edge that you may consider dull- is the best method for removing the boat letters without the risk of harming the remaining surface of your boat. This is because the dull chisel will gently peel away the vinyl but won’t be sharp enough to hurt the metal or fiberglass surface.
Small Flakes of Vinyl
This can be downright frustrating. Especially if you’re trying to use your fingers to peel the boat letters up. For these frustrating jobs we would suggest bringing out the big guns: namely a heat gun. You should be careful not to overheat your surface to avoid damage. But starting from the lowest setting and working your way up, begin applying heat directly to the vinyl you intend to remove. This will loosen and cause the vinyl to almost remove itself due to the high intensity heat. You should be careful to touch the surface after this, but using a tool like a chisel can be helpful to remove the remaining vinyl and adhesive.
Vinyl Ghosting
This isn’t no ghost story but it may be just as scary. So what happens when you start to remove your vinyl but a ghost image of your boat lettering remains under your vinyl? Well let’s talk about how it got there in the first place. When you applied your boat letters it covered the surface of your boat. While the rest of your boat enjoyed its time out in the sun it slowly was bombarded with UV rays which caused the color to fade slightly. When you removed the boat lettering, what you’re seeing isn’t a discoloration caused by the vinyl, but the rest of the boat itself fading in color. You’ll probably notice the ghost lettering seems a bit lighter. Unfortunately, there’s no good way to solve this problem short of repainting your whole boat!