Sail number removal question.....

No real tips - they should come off pretty easy. Once you get an edge, though, go sloooowwww. It will make you pay a penalty if you get anxious and the second you try to go for speed, the number will tear and explode into tiny strips. If you are patient and go slow, it should come up in big pieces. Also go super slow at the very last bit or it leaves a tiny tip.

Once removed, if you have any adhesive left behind on the sail, use goo-gone or denatured alcohol to remove the remaining tacky spots.

Does heat help, or just for hulls?

Mike

I'd be afraid to delam the sail, but never tried.

It certainly helps to leave it out in the sun for a while and do it.

Yes...a little heat won't hurt you but I wouldn't put much more heat on it than a hair drier can supply (I wouldn't use a heat gun). Sunlight is a good option.

I took some numbers of a second hand sail with a sailmaker last week and he advised the exact opposite. Keep it out of the sun get a corner then rip it of fast like a bandaide. Worked a treat

Interesting. Maybe depends on the age of the materials? Do they become brittle (likely to shred) with age and/or UV exposure?

Mike

I was thinking about vinyl numbers when I wrote my post.

I guess the cold technique may be better for Dacron numbers.

I've never had vinyl numbers on any of my sails. I'm talking standard dacron numbers on mylar.

I admit I've never tried to rip them off with speed but I've removed a fair share of them. Every time I've done it, it's been room temp and I removed them slowly in order to get them to come off in one relatively large piece at a time.

For PSA Dacron insignia cloth, I'd put some Goo-Gone on them first to soften the adhesive. They should peel off pretty easily. I have a friend who swears by lighter fluid (cigarette lighter, not charcoal lighter), but I prefer the odor of citrus solvent.

Regards,
Eric

+1 on the lighter fluid. I've been using it for decades and it works better than most products on the market. Great for tar removal also.

we used gas as tar remover when i worked at the local car wash in the 70's. that worked great too

was probably terrible for the car's paint/finish

If you have good gloves and respirator, the chemicals that work well to dissolve the glue are xylene for the ripstop numbers, and goof-off for the vinyl glue. Maybe one or both of those works for everything. Goof-off takes of the glue from foot pads better than most other products, and xylene removes sharpie from mylar as well.

sunblock does a great job of removing permanent sharpie

makes me wonder what it's doing for my skin...

That is certainly something I wouldn't have tried.

Jay it was much more like this (i was the short white guy in the back)

Mine pretty much pulled off, but there was a few spots that didn't...

Wife's hair dryer took care of it...