Removing decals - color fading worry?

[bergermaister]

So I'm thinking about stripping at least part of the MobiusV off of my 2001 to give it a different look. I've never been overly excited about the factory decal and am thinking about trimming off the big "V" so it just shows Mobius.

http://www.waketrader.net/images/moomba_2.jpg

http://www.waketrader.net/images/moomba_3.jpg

My only concern is that the boat is 8 years old - and there's a chance that there will be a nice bright yellow "V" underneath where the decal used to be?

If looks too bad I guess I could strip all of the MobiusV decal off and either leave it blank or consider something custom. Anyone else went through this? Did you have nice, bright gel coat underneath where the decal(s) came off?

[moombadaze]

berg, personally I think remove the mobiusV would look good--nice and clean looking

sorry my paint colors are off a little but you get the idea

[kaneboats]

Can't believe they let you out of kindergarten, Stacy.

[kaneboats]

But I do agree that he could scrap the whole thing. Might try running a search on Ebay for Moomba or Mobius. There's a guy selling come cool replacement decals on there pretty cheap and has a couple neat designs.

If you get a "new yellow" look underneath just take some polishing compound and a buffer to the side of the hull for about 2-3 beers worth. Follow up with a new wax. If you are going to apply a new decal don't wax till after it's on though.

[jclay5]

Berg,

I just did this on my 2002 last week. I could not believe how much the boat had faded until I saw the color under the decal. It was so bad that I've actually spent the last 3 days wet sanding and polishing the boat. All I got left to do is wax. I would have to say one thing, although the work was hard, the boat looks amazing after the wet sanding was completed. I'm very happy with my decision to remove the decals and wet sand the boat.

I will have pictures of before and after in a few days.

Eventually I plan to do some custom decals, but I'm satisfied with the naked look for now definitely better than the factory decal.

[jbheuerman]

What are you using to remove the decal? I just recently bought my first boat and need to remove the State License sticker. Just wondering what works best without scratching or damaging the paint.

[jclay5]

I used my finger nail and a hair dryer. It should just peel right off then take some adhesive remover and rub out the adhesive left over on the boat.

[bergermaister]

I've used a hair dryer before with a little "Amazing Orange" citrus oily stuff to clean up the residue. Worked like a charm on the small licensing decals but I'm sure the big one will take some time and elbow grease.

You happen to take any pictures of your decals jclay - the before/during/after look showing the fading? I'm also curious what grit sandpaper you were using. I'd rather not go through that kind of refinishing work if at all possible

I'm guessing the fading will show up worse on some colors than others - like a bright red.

moombadaze - you inspired me to fire up Photoshop on my lunch hour and mock it up. I'm starting to like the naked look a lot.

http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k414/grberglund/MoombaMobiusV/Moomba-Decal.jpg


http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k414/grberglund/MoombaMobiusV/Moomba-mobius.jpg


http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k414/grberglund/MoombaMobiusV/Moomba-naked.jpg

[jclay5]

berg,

I do have some pictures of right after I removed the decal showing the fading. (I took them so I could show you all how well wet sanding works just haven’t gotten done yet) I have not taken the after pics yet because I was waiting to get it waxed. I will tell you this we've only had our boat since July and the previous owner did not take nearly as good of care of it as we do now. Your boat, however, looks like it hasn't faded nearly as much as ours had so you might be good with just using the 3m super duty rubbing compound it’s very abrasive. Its also $25.00 a bottle.

To answer your question about the sand paper I used 1500, which ended up not being strong enough, so I ended up using 1000 grit along with 3M super duty rubbing compound and an angle grinder. The Britney Blue gel coat looks almost show room new. I will try and get it waxed tomorrow and take some more pics of the finished product.

Now I would like to sand blast the trailer and repaint as my next little project =D. Your trailer looks really good for an 01.

[jclay5]

Ok berg here are the pics sorry about the after pics it was kinda of gloomy and they didn't turn out to well. I probably could have gone over it one more time with the sand paper, but I was tired of doing it and satisfied enough with the outcome =D

http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr100/jclay5/IMG_1848.jpg

http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr100/jclay5/IMG_1847.jpg

http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr100/jclay5/IMG_1846.jpg

[jclay5]

After Wet Sanding, then using 3M super duty rubbing compound with an angle grinder, Polishing with McGuire's 45 Marine Polish, and using McGuire's marine Wax this is the outcome.

http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr100/jclay5/IMG_1858.jpg

http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr100/jclay5/IMG_1859.jpg

http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr100/jclay5/IMG_1860.jpg

I got compound and other stuff all over my trailer, but it comes off pretty easy with a pressure washer.

I will be adding some custom graphics later this summer.

[bergermaister]

Wow - I see what you mean on the fade. I'm still suspicious that it might show more on the darker/deeper colors.

Your naked blue looks pretty sharp now though! Is your boat subject to hours and hours of sitting in the sun (when not on the water)? Out here in the Pacific Northwest it's kind of hit and miss and my boat is stored in between two houses with very little direct sun hitting it so I'm hoping fading will be minimal.

The yellow on my 2001 actually has a metal flake in it too so I'm really not wanting to sand and buff.

[jclay5]

Yes the boat spends its entire life in the sun. I keep it good and waxed, but the person who had it before me I'm not sure if he had ever waxed it. The gel coat looks and feels amazing after the job but if you look hard enough you can still see a little of the fade but you really got to look. I'm sure I can get the rest of it out I just got to find the time. Let me know how your project goes and take some pics!