Wakesetter Graphic Removal

[acarboneau]

I have a 2012 Wakesetter and I want to remove the (IMO) ugly “Wakesetter” graphic and put the newer style graphic in its place. I am worried about gelcoat fade underneath… has anyone done this, and if there was fade was it fairly easy to buff out? If you have pictures that would be awesome too! Thanks :)

[dwc032]

I did it on my 2013 LSV. I did not have any gel coat fading, but I religiously took care of it and it was waxed twice a month. I think if your was somewhat taken care of you will be fine. 

[Cole2001]

being white gel significant fading is unlikely and if there is a heavy cut polish will take it out. 

[oldjeep]

I had a little shadowing on my 2012 on one side, but it is black and had been stored on a lift for 2 years before I got it.

[Sharpag01]

I have almost the same boat same color and interested in what you come up with.  Was thinking of replacing the original graphic but cant get enough courage to do it.

[formulaben]

57 minutes ago, Sharpag01 said:

Was thinking of replacing the original graphic but cant get enough courage to do it.

[Cole2001]

Go way back and do the Malibu skier logo

[dcwilson]

The WS in the middle of that decal is notorious for leaving marks on the gelcoat that isn't removable for some reason, specific to that decal. Something to be aware of as it may leave a dark mark on the white gelcoat. Haven't seen the rest of the decal leave anything behind. 

[MarkN]

I removed my decals and the only time I noticed the difference is when I’m standing right next to it. I’m also the only person who notices it.

+1 street cred if you go old school with the logo

[oldjeep]

Just leave the chrome Malibu on there.  Looks like someone already added a newer upside down swoop decal to the originals on your boat.

 

[dcwilson]

On 3/2/2022 at 10:44 AM, dcwilson said:

The WS in the middle of that decal is notorious for leaving marks on the gelcoat that isn't removable for some reason, specific to that decal. Something to be aware of as it may leave a dark mark on the white gelcoat. Haven't seen the rest of the decal leave anything behind. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/327295504286386/permalink/1651737478508842/

[TyB]

I wouldn’t worry about the emblem leaving a mark that you couldn’t clean up.  Worse case you might need to wet sand a little, other than that you just need a good polisher and compounds.  I have removed emblems on my last two boats.  They both needed a little polishing to look new again.

[rakr]

On my ‘13 the “center” WS logo was the only thing that left a mark after removing. It was over gray metal flake. For what ever reason the rest of the stickers didn’t leave a mark. If I were to do it over, I would have just left the center WS on the boat. 
 

it almost seemed like something in the adhesive stained the clear coat over the sticker.

[Pstangle86]

Interested. I desperately want mine off as well. How are people removing their decals? Heat?

[jd8181]

On my boat i removed one side with a heat gun and the other side with a 3m eraser wheel on a drill. 

The heat was a lot less of a mess, but did leave some residue on the boat. to which i went back over it with the 3m and got it off.

The 3m wheel is nice and easy, but makes a heck of a mess. 

I don't think you can go wrong with either. 

[dcwilson]

On 3/6/2022 at 7:19 AM, rakr said:

On my ‘13 the “center” WS logo was the only thing that left a mark after removing. It was over gray metal flake. For what ever reason the rest of the stickers didn’t leave a mark. If I were to do it over, I would have just left the center WS on the boat. 
 

it almost seemed like something in the adhesive stained the clear coat over the sticker.

Here's a good explanation from the facebook link above on why the center decal leaves a mark sometimes. It's held on with a different VHB tape that absorbs water which penetrates the gelcoat. Contrary to what some others have said, this cannot be wet sanded away as it is deep in the gelcoat.

"Gelcoat is porous. That WakeSetter logo had foam VHB tape that was holding it to the hull .

What happened was water was allowed to seep in behind the logo and there it sat . It penetrated the clear gelcoat and got to the flake medium and “rusted” behind the clear .

You will have to put a new logo on or have it ground out and resprayed."

Edited March 9, 2022 by dcwilson

[twinlakes]

When we bought our used 12 Response TXi the dealer took off the "Response" silhouette decals (which were damaged) and buffed the boat out.  For about 1 season you could see a very very slight shadow (maybe bc I knew where to look).  You would never know they were ever there now, our hull is white.  We were going to get new ones, but we liked it so much with just the chrome raised Malibu decals on the back corners we left it as is.  You will like the look, might need to deal with the center decal but you have options.    

[BillyChinookVLX]

I used a heat gun to remove mine, then cleaned any residue with alcohol. Left some ghosting but 95% of it came out with a couple days of cutting and polishing

 

 before and after pictures below

[acarboneau]

Thanks for all of the replies everyone! For some reason I wasn’t getting notifications when someone responded! Anyways, I think I am going to tackle the removal as I hate the gaudy graphics and how they look. The clean look with just the Malibu logo is what I am going for. I guess the only thing I am worried about is the WS logo, but I guess its a risk. The gel coat on this boat is immaculate… if only malibu took pride in their electronics and touch screens!

Edited April 6, 2022 by acarboneau
grammar

[BillyChinookVLX]

On 4/3/2022 at 6:39 PM, BillyChinookVLX said:

I used a heat gun to remove mine, then cleaned any residue with alcohol. Left some ghosting but 95% of it came out with a couple days of cutting and polishing

 

 before and after pictures below

Latest update, newer style lettering. I think it looks much better than the tribal tramp stamp as it came to be called in our house. My only regret is squaring the lettering from the rub rail not the bottom lines of the hull. It looks like the lettering is running down hill a little bit. 
 

Hindsight is 20/20 I guess.

[Pstangle86]

I removed my graphics but ended up with terrible dark spots under my “WS” middle graphic. I would attach a picture, but I am not sure how. It’s much darker then the paint ever was from the factory, so it almost looks stained. 

[ROFF]

Just removed all the emblems from the sides.   Going modern.   Still left with the staining.   Hit it pretty hard with compound and a buffer but no change.  suspecting its deeper in the gelcoat.  Not sure if I should hit it with a wet sand or just live with it.    Pretty hard to see in the sun but I will know its there.   

[formulaben]

8 minutes ago, ROFF said:

Pretty hard to see in the sun but I will know its there.

You'll probably be the only one who notices, especially after a season in the sun.