Mainsail
Perform these steps on a smooth hard clean surface:
- Remove sail numbers leaving sticky glue behind (recommend to just do part of one number first to make sure this method works on your numbers)
- Spread Lavender oil over sticky glue and let soak in for a minute or so. You may have to apply twice.
- Rub with a lot of down pressure just an inch or so at a time. Glue should roll off in clumps. Reapply lavender oil as necessary.
- Final cleaning with a soapy liquid. We used Dawn Powerwash which worked well for us.
The final result was that we couldn’t find any trace of the old numbers - YAY
This doesn’t appear to harm the sailcloth but I bear no responsibility if it does for you.
Allow yourself lots of time as it takes a while.
Spinnaker
For felt pen numbers we used rubbing alcohol
We tried acetone and it didn’t work nearly as well for us.
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Comments from a representative at Ullman Sails:
When the floor removes numbers, they try to pull them up slowly to remove as much adhesive as possible. To remove residual adhesive, you can use a little acetone or denatured rubbing alcohol. Bruce Cooper, the loft owner, said it is sometimes helpful to put cardboard or stiff plastic under the sail. However, be sure there is no lettering, decals or printing – the print could transfer onto the sail. Some sail numbers will come off nice and easy, others give a bit of trouble.
To apply the new numbers, we peel back the top edge and slowly install it, pulling the backing as we go. After the number is in place, squeegee tool may be helpful to adhere to the sail. You can catch a snippet in the facebook reel here.
