How to remove an old painted on name from a boat

I recently bought a used boat, and wanted to remove the name that was painted on the transom. I searched the web and found a few suggestions. I tried several of them. I used a product called Goof Off, this worked well on the old decals but not too good on the painted on name. I also tried a heat gun, but that was just getting the Gel Coat real hot which concerned me.



I then tried using Easy Off oven cleaner which was effective but taking a while to work. Then I decided to spray on the Easy Off and heat it up with the heat gun. This worked really well for me. I could see the paint start to change color as I heated it up, and I could just wipe it off with a rag. I had read that the Easy Off will leave yellow residue behind, but if you quickly wipe it off with distilled vinegar it will come right off. I did this and it worked out well. Once I came up with this method I had the old name off the boat in less then a half hour.

Another method that works well and is even easier, but slightly more expensive, is to just buy a brand new boat.