Can you save a decal?

I have a 1942 Yankee that I am hoping to restore to its original condition. It has a pretty nice original decal. I haven't done this before and among my many questions, I want to know if it is possible to save the decal when I strip the boat.

I imagine there is another thread about this, but I couldn't find it.

Thanks,
Brian

 

It is definitely possible to reserve the decal...but it's a bit of a pain in the rear to work around it.
When you strip the decks you will need to make sure not to get stripper on the decal. Work as close to it as you dare. To remove the varnish close to the decal you will need to use a sharp scraper...I use broken glass and my extremely sharp pocket knife. An Exacto knife or a fresh utility knife will also work. When you have the deck stripped and start sanding it you''ll need to be careful to stay clear of the decal. It is far easier to get a nice finish on the deck if you just blast through the decal, but it's much better (in my opinion) to have the original than a replacement/copy.
Just take your time and keep the stripper off the decal.

 

I suppose it would depend on the nature of the repairs you need to make. If you can mask if off and work around it - go for it. I don't see how you could succeed taking it off.

Otherwise take a well lit high quality picture of it, cleanup in photoshop, create a scaled printable image and have reproduction decal printed.

 

Do you know if you can get old Old Town decals or reproductions of old Old Town decals?

 

Fantastic! Thank you