TrexToon wrote: A hairdryer will soften the decal and adhesive allowing easier removal. WD40 will remove the remaining adhesive without damaging the paint.

'Goo Gone' should also remove the remaining adhesive.

Dont use a pressure washer!!!! Oh it might take some of the old stuff off. BUT it goes from the side panels on to everything your hair the toons the seats that my wife spent 4hr cleaning.

I used an  aluminum wire wheel after the mess that I made and some acetone to get the goo off.

We have been working on removing the old decals from our 91 SunTracker 30 foot boat.  Here are some pictures of the process we are using.  We picked up the idea of the hair dryer from this thread of suggestions.  We used the hair dryer to heat the fence panel from the underneath.  We put packing tape over the decals and stripes and lifted.  (I work for a moving company and had some of our packing tape at home.  We ran out of this tape and tried to use masking tape and another clear brand of packing tape and it did not work as welll).  We realized pretty quickly the decals would break more easily of the aluminum became too hot.  We used a sweeping motion with the hair dryer to keep the warm air moving but not concentrate the heat in any one place.  Our fences seem to be vinyl coated or have some kind of texctured coating.  Using the hair dryer and pulling the stripes and decals off with the packing tape kept the old stripes and decals in nearly one piece.  It was interesting the blue and white stripes did not come off easily.  I had to use my fingernail to scrape some of the stripes towards the tape to keep them stuck to the tape.  It was a bit tedious but we accomplished de-imaging one entire forward fence in one evening after work.  We had to use a razor blade to scrape off the white stripe and the last of the blue stripe that just would not come off using the tape and hair dryer.  We had to be very careful with the razor blade as to not gouge the gray vinyl covering of the fence aluminum.  See pics::::

The vessel registration number was a thick brittle decal.  The glue smelled very bad once heated.  I could not get an edge to lift without cracking into tiny pieces.  I covered the decal with the packing tape and presto it came off easily while heating with hair dryer.

The following pix are how we recovered the fence with white vinyl.  This vinyl can be purchased from any sign shop or on-line vinyl graphics supplier.  The biggest difficulty is making sure the surgace is free and clear of any debris.  Jeff used the razor blade to scrape off the glue residue and nicked the vinyl in a few places.  These places were visible once the new vinyl was in place.  Every imperfection shows through the new vinyl.  We will use and buffer to feather the edges of any imperfections on the next fence we cover.  We tried Goo Gone on the glue residue but it did not work on mose of the residue.

Please let me know if this works for anyone else!!

Happy New Year!

You could also try Contractors Solvent Pro Strength by De-Solv-it.  I use it for a number of tough applications and it is a good alternative to more toxic petroleum based solvents. It is made from Orange's and works very well.  It is used for removing Caulk, Silicone, Floor adhesive, Oil, Roofing tar, Grease, Wet paint.  It also works fairly well at cleaning up mildew off bathroom walls.  Here is a web site for you.   http://www.de-solv-it.com/

WARNING: IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE SMELL OF ORANGES DON'T USE THIS STUFF.

Nice work Linda. I tried everything above but the hair dryer. I finally would soften the decal/glue with commercial decal remover and use a razor blade to scrape it off. The glue still bled thru and after re-painting a panel or two I had to use a orbital sander and just sand back down to bare metal to get it where the decals did not show thru. One side of my toon looks ok but the other side you can see the glue residue. Next time I think I will take Charles' advice and just skin over it with vinyl fencing. It will cost a little more but save alot of time.

Thank you very much for the AttaGirl!!!  The vinyl was a gift from a friend so I do not have a cost, sorry.  I spent time working for a sign shop and learned some great techniques with laying the vinyl.  Jeff worked for U-Haul re-imaging the trucks with the vinyl covering and the vinyl decals.  Every U-Haul you see on the road is not painted.  It is a vinyl.  The biggest trick is using a 'Squee'.  It is a square piece of plastic with rounded corners and two ridges in the center for pushing leverage.  The ones I have are a 3M product with a part no of P.A.-1.  I will take a pic and post. The biggest thing is going slow from the center out.  We cannot see any of the silouettes of the old striping and logos.  I really would like to put some of the SunTracker logos and Party Hut logos back on the boat.  I told Jeff I would like people to know my boat is a SunTracker Party Hut.  Jeff says 'anyone who knows toons knows you have a Party Hut'.  I suppose he is right. Here is a pic of what we THINK we are going to do with the imaging.

This is a totally computer generated picture.  I edited the color of the fences and started adding the graphics I cut and pasted off the net.  The color of the cocktail glasses looks green in this pic but they will be blue.  Please tell me what you think of my design!!

The little one is our grandaughter, Emma.  She had to wear her life jacket on the boat, it was cute.  This pic was taken Jan 07 before we even put it in the water.

BeamSalyer71,

I found alot of sites for auto decals that can be used on a pontoon boat.  Since its panels are out of the water auto decals will work great.  Just google search and be sure to compare various sites as prices can range from $50 to a couple hundred for the same thing.  Most of the decals I found to my liking were around $120-$150 for a set or pair.  Add in a couple smaller versions of the same decal for $25-$50 and you have a nicely done matching set of decals for your boat.  Good luck and let me know what you find...I am still thinking of doing it.

Great catch on the details Charles.  I did not realize.

Thats why I love this forum.  You guys go out of your way to make it and keep it useful and accurate.

Hello, My apologies I have not paid attention to this thread and answered your questions.  The vinyl covering is like a big sticker.  It is the same vinyl that is cut into decals and not the vinyl covering that is sold by PontoonStuff for covering the fence.  The old imaging would show through this vinyl and cause more chances of air bubbles under the new vinyl.  Applying new decorative decals would be difficult to get good adherance with ridges of old decals under the vinyl covering and once again create ridges under the new imaging.  You would really be surprised at what shows through this vinyl material, scratches, the old glue, dirt literally everything.  Applying this vinyl is not for everyone as there is definitely a learning curve.  Jeff and I both have been in the re-imaging and sign making business in the past so we both have experience with applying this product and decals.  I suppose it is the basic old decal removal process advise that I am offering in this thread.

We thought the process we were using was taking too much time and too tedious.  Jeff decided to use a single edged razor blade holder and razor blade to scrape off the decals and glue.  Works great.  You have to be careful as the razor blade can cause nasty gouges in the aluminum.  The blade needs to be replaced often.  Any little burr to the blade and it will cause scratches.  Check out the pics!

This is the ball of old decals Jeff removed from fences in about 30 to 45 minutes.  After removing the decals, Jeff went back over the areas to scrape more glue. He then used an orbital hand sander to remove the imperfections and additional remaining glue.

Happy decal removing!!