Vinyl on boat question

[VC805]

Was wondering how the vinyl on the sides of your boats is holding up over the years. I'm on the fence about getting them put on. There will be no paint or zolatone on the outside of the boat. Only thing to get painted will be the interior. So the vinyl would be the only color on the outside. As always appreciate any input.

[sport drifter]

Was wondering how the vinyl on the sides of your boats is holding up over the years. I'm on the fence about getting them put on. There will be no paint or zolatone on the outside of the boat. Only thing to get painted will be the interior. So the vinyl would be the only color on the outside. As always appreciate any input.

I have had it on 3 boats and redone or added it to freshen up older boats the oldest one is on a 24ft Wooldridge it still looks good over 20 years on the boat it is 3m brand but there are others out there to use. Over paint it is easy to replace or repair when that occasional scrape or That Guy bumps into you. I use a good coat of wax on it a few times a year and clean up from silty river scum is easy.

[Rob B]

Todd. How do you get the glue residue off the hull after peeling off the vinyl?

[macncoke]

I make the vinyl letterings and designs for my customers in Southeast AK. We use a 7 year material. 90% of my customers are the commercial fleet and they usually seem to last 5-7 years before we need to replace them. In most cases they repaint the boats before that time anyhow. The stuff holds to almost any material very well, so long as the surface is clean when you put it on. A heat gun is usually the easiest way to remove it. For any access material there are plenty of products that will work to remove it. We use something called 'de-sol.' It works very well. Vinyl is inexpensive and really looks good if done correctly.

[VC805]

Heard from a guy that has had his Woolie for I think 15 years and he said his vinyl is still holding up very well. Guess I'll go with the vinyl.

[sport drifter]

Todd. How do you get the glue residue off the hull after peeling off the vinyl?

Rob in the past I had to try and get the vinyl to come off with the glue, with heat from a heat gun or a high pressure steam cleaner that has very hot water. If I had glue residue I used "goof off" cleaner or "Orange sole" cleaner to remove the old glue.

I haven't tried this new to me stuff called vynil off just spray it on the old vinyl wait a few minutes and peel back the vinyl and the old glue in one step!!!!!
http://www.crystaltek.us.com/crystaltek-vinyl-off.htm Here is the product
I may have a Wooldridge to put all new decals on full sides with trim so I hope to try this stuff out. I believe it is available in anch from folks that sell to the sign makers.

[Rob B]

Thanks for the info on the vinyl off. I'll give that stuff a try if I decide to remove the rest of my stickers. I used a pressure washer and all it did was remove the vinyl and left the sticky mess behind. Goof Off worked ok but it took a lot longer than expected.