Does anyone know if you can or how to remove spray paint graffiti from a sail without damaging the sail? The graffiti is three plus years old on the bottom section of the mainsail. The sail is in good condition. I'm currently keeping it as a back up.

Is it a dacron or mylar sail? If Mylar, it should be relatively stable against MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) and that MEK is a pretty good solvent and should remove the paint if used carefully.

It's a Dacron sail Jake. Thanks for your prompt response.

I have no idea if it is fabric safe but many spray paints (from a can) can be removed with Acetone

Dacron is more difficult. It's essentially a polyester fabric - which isn't great on it's own against a lot of solvents (it is listed as "marginal" resistance against MEK and Acetone...which isn't great). Dacron sail cloth also has several different coatings and binders that might also be affected by solvents. By the book, there probably isn't an easy way to remove the paint from Dacron without some risk of damage to the cloth but maybe someone else has some more practical experience.

spray new paint the color of the sail over the graffiti ?

Make sure you use MEK solvent not MEK Peroxide. MEKP is used to catalyze resin, Poly and Vinyl Ester resin.

Try xylene first. It's less volatile than MEK, making it easier to apply. Xylene is also safe on Dacron. That's what I use to remove adhesive left over from old insignia cloth. It also works great for cleaning tar off your feet (if you launch off the beach on the Atlantic coast).

I hope that helps,
Eric

Eric, great catch! I looked that up in the tables and Xylene does have a good compatibility with Dacron.

Where on the Atlantic coast are you getting tar balls? You should try Long Beach!

Pretty much anywhere near commercial shipping. They ballast their hulls with seawater (which invariably seems to have oil or bunker residue) and pump out near the docks.

Used to get them a lot up and down FL east coast. Baby oil was a good to get that stuff off your feet.