Adhesives on gelcoat

[CarlL]

I removed several old decals from my hull and what I have now is sticky, gooey residue where the decals once were. Any thoughts on the best way to remove this without damaging the gelcoat.

Also, I have lots of little nicks and dings on the hull. What is the best way to repair these.

Thanks.

[mansfieldsign]

You can remove the old lettering or graphics adhesive with a clean paper towel damped with plain mineral spirits (Not turps). This will soften the adhesive.
Use a plastic putty knife or a piece of acrylic on edge to push the residue into a gummy ball that is easily removed. The mineral spirits also acts as a lubricant so the plastic will not scratch the hull gelcoat. Clean the hull with Isopropyl alcohol then clean again with plain glass cleaner. If your not going with new graphics wax the area cleaned.
We don't like to use the 3M Adhesive Removers because they tend to bleach off the natural aging changes of the gelcoatl making the removal(shadow) that much more obvious to the eye. We do this all the time -- good luck

[Bob Parsons]

WD40 works well for removing sticker adhesive.

[Flying Scotsman]

If you heat the decals with a hairdryer and peel them off slowly, most of the adhesive will come off with the decal.
TFS

[Nauti Buoy]

Lighter fluid (that which is used in cigarette lighters, i.e. Ronson fluid, etc.) followed by rubbing alcohol for clean-up. Have found the lighter fluid is good for removing the adhesive residue of many stick-on items. Rubbing alcohol is a good, evaporative cleaner to remove any lighter fluid residue.

[CarlL]

Thanks for the suggestions.

:)