The ghost of old hull numbers

Dion_Dunn

Member
I spent the weekend getting my 'new' to me Sunfish cleaned up. I'm pretty sure the hull and decks hadn't been polished or waxed since it was new in 1983. So lots of arm work later, she is looking pretty good again. However, one thing that has bothered me is where the old hull numbers were stuck on. I removed them with a heat gun, removed all of the residue, even sanded the spots with 400 then 600 grit paper and followed it with rubbing compound, polish and wax - but the shadow of the numbers remains. It's almost a faint light tan color burned into the gel coat.

Honestly, when the boat is on the water it probably won't be noticeable but after spending 6 hours polishing the boat it bugs the crap out of me! Anyway to get these old stains off of there, or do I just need to live with it? In Kentucky I don't need the hull numbers on there like the boat did in Ohio, or I would just cover it up with new numbers. You can see the faint outline of the old stickers on the attached pic.

Thanks

Dion
 

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Sunfish is made to take you mind off your problems, not put problems
on you mind. Looks good, go Sailing!
 
I removed them with a heat gun, removed all of the residue, even sanded the spots with 400 then 600 grit paper and followed it with rubbing compound, polish and wax - but the shadow of the numbers remains. It's almost a faint light tan color burned into the gel coat.
I'm thinking the heat gun had stained the adhesive into the gelcoat. :(

:oops: I haven't tried either of the following suggested methods in fiberglass, but Clorox or Hydrogen Peroxide would be my first attempts.

I was astonished that Hydrogen Peroxide, diluted with water, easily removed puppy stains from my hardwood oak floors. :eek:
 
Being in the boat business for 30 yrs, plan on living with it. UV and sticker glue have done their job over the years. You can sand more, but its possible you'll go thru the gel before the shadow is completely gone...not to mention getting a larger area of slightly different color. Boat name instead of reg numbers??
Matching gel on my 69 fish is fun
 
Hmmmm, boat name is an interesting idea. I'm going to wait to see how bad it looks out in the daylight and on the water. Chances are I'll just live with it. What I wanted to hear was "30 years, plan on living with it". Then I can mentally move past it knowing that I can't do much about it.

Thanks
 
I'd try 1600 then 2000 wet sand. Followed by 3M Fiberglass Restorer. Then go sail and see if anyone notices as you splash by. Would you notice it from a galloping horse? If not, then don't worry.

Also, there is a Native American idea that only the Great Spirit can make something perfect, so a purposeful flaw must be left in the art, and that is where the Great Spirit will enter as well.

e'tokmite'k (peace)

Kent
 
I'd give the bleach a try. May do it with little to no effort. (Looks like a sweet, vintage 911 is hiding behind your 'fish.)

I picked up one of these brochures from a dealership in 1965:

P4200036_zpsve6s36xe.jpg


Being in the boat business for 30 yrs, plan on living with it. UV and sticker glue have done their job over the years. You can sand more, but its possible you'll go thru the gel before the shadow is completely gone...not to mention getting a larger area of slightly different color. Matching gel on my 69 fish is fun.

Boat name instead of reg numbers??

:) I did that, and got lots of admiring looks!

P5230014-001_zpsad4y2yu3.jpg

:p
 
Also, there is a Native American idea that only the Great Spirit can make something perfect, so a purposeful flaw must be left in the art, and that is where the Great Spirit will enter as well.

Interesting, the Craftsmen era projects reflected the same philosophy, they would often design in an intentional "flaw" in a project to convey that only God could create perfection. Fun to try and find them.
 
Believe me, this hull has enough flaws to feed the Great Spirit for a long time. ;)

With my luck, bleach would turn it too white then I'd have the opposite issue. For now, it's staying the way it is.
 
Try CLR, a stain remover that targets Calcium, Lime and Rust. You can get it at any home goods or hardware store. It is the only product that seems to work when bleach and other stain removers fail.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 

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