Why won't it come off ???

[Mooneys]

I'm cleaning the hull on my new to me 86 Starliner. I pealed off the old Ohio numbers and it sure was bright white under them. My problem is I have tried a ton of stuff (oxiclean, soap & water, muratic acid, compound and a buffer) and the hull won't clean up to the same color of white as under the old numbers. It seems like it's stained from lake/river water. I have gotten it to lighten up a good bit, but I am looking for ideas on how to really get the hull white again. Besides, my new numbers won't cover the old area where the old numbers were and that won't look good if I don't get it white again. Any suggestions?

This is my first white hull boat, all the rest were dark colors so never had this problem before. I doubt I'll buy another white boat again if this is what it loooks like after a few years.

[Tennessee Pulsare]

Im not sure how to tell you to proceed on whitening your hull, other than wet sanding with very very fine grit (Ive done that on my old 86 burgundy Starflight). But other than having to do the entire hull to match, you might consider a much simpler option. You could simply cut a long rectangular piece of sign grade adhesive vinyl to hide the old Ohio "ghost" letters and then put yours on top. I feel certain you could find a shade of offwhite that closely matches your hull. Or you could go with a black or other dark color rectangular "bed" for your registration numbers. This would be a cheap option that might actually look good. Just my two cents. Coop

[Mooneys]

Thanks, I was thinking wet sanding might be my next option. I'll wait for winter to start that. The previous owner did the coverup thing as well, big shadowed letters. a little compound and elbow grease got his letters "shadow" off, but it's the old original letters "shadow" that won't go away. I am assuming the water stains must have made their way into the gel coat somehow if wet sanding is required to get them out. I was hoping there was some sort of marine cleaner that was specially designed to get the stains off/out, oh well. Thanks again for the advice.

[Taz]

I have used a acid jell product with some sucess. I can't remeber the name (C-10?)but it comes in a plasic jar its a blue jelly. You brush it on and it will stick to the jel coat. The longer you leave it on the better it works. Wash off w/ water and reapply.

[Taz]

Oh one more thing. If the water you boat in has a high iron content the stain could be iron oxide. If it is try Naval Jelly, you can get it at the auto parts store.

[boatman4021]

Try some soft scrubb. Put a little on a soft cloth straight from the bottle and see how it works for you. boatman

[Craig]

I would normally say to use Starbrite Hull Cleaner, but that muratic acid should have worked. The Starbrite always takes off the scum and yellowing that builds up for me. I use it about once a month. In the past, I've parked the boat on the trailer back a few inches so I could see the stained part under the bunks that I can never get to, and it takes that right off to a bright white.

-Craig