Subject: Changing Sail Numbers
From Anon
22 January 2007 at 01:19:45
I was just wondering if removing old sail numbers and replacing them with new ones leaves a big, dirty, sticky, slow sort of thing behind?!? Also how do u go about taking them off?!?
From smart arse
22 January 2007 at 08:26:25
Materials required: - Acetone ( 1 ltr should do it} - Cloth rags (cotton) - Scraping tool (painters knife with a flexi blade) - Clear Mylar section (1 sq m. is best) - Plastic gloves - a pail (solvent proof -metal or plastic) Make sure you are in a well ventilated area. Outdoors in light wind works... Find a solid place (piece of ply board) to lay the sail over with the numbers laying on the board. Slide the Clear mlyar between sail and the plyboard aligning it with the first number you want to remove. Put you gloves on. Then lightly sprinkle the acetone over the number area. The acetone will saturate the dacron and start softening the adhesive under the number. Take the scraper and push it at an edge of the number. You will see it start to release itself. Take the number off and discard it in a pail. If you then keep scraping and rubbing the saturated cloth over the area where the number used to be you will see that you are removing all the adhesive shite and it is cleaning up nicely. Don't hesitate to saturate the dirty area with more acetone and rubbng/wiping it with clean cloth. Basically the acetone os softening up the adhesive to the point where it will then stick to the cloth. You have to keep using a clean side to cloth to remove the adhesive. Thus sprinkling more acetone over it keeps the adhesive solvent which enables the clean cloth to pick it up. The acetone evaporates quickly so you have to work rapidly ! REMEBER WHEN USING THE SCRAPER TO HAVE THE SAIL ON A FLAT, STABLE SURFACE (PLYBOARD) Slowly push the scraper level across the old adhesive and wipe the build up (on the scraper) on to the cloth. It is VERY important you keep the scraper level otherwise you will scratch or puncture the sail (no beuno) After this is when you start sprinkling more acetone on the area and wiping it vigorously with more clean cloth. good luck.. you can always take it the local sail loft.