Stone_05

Okay....job turned out to be extremely tedious and frustrating. After using about 10 other sticky residue removers I finally broke down and called a graphics/sign shop for advice on what they use. They told me they use Rapid Remover. It removes the residue and doesn't harm the paint. Of course it wasn't sold in stores and cost a limb to buy a gallon of it!! $80!!!! He finally broke down and told me I could bring in a small container and he would fill it for $15. I felt like I was getting screwed here but I really wanted the residue off today. Anyway, the stuff worked like a charm...Residue rolled off no problem so I guess it was worth it. Plus, I didn't get dizzy from the citrus fumes like the WD40,Tar Remover,lighter fluid etc. The new exposed paint is quite glossy now so I have some wax/buffing to do, but I'm extemely pleased that my chipped decals are gone!!! Love the clean look!

reyna12

tell me you tried gasoline...

nonamer

Should of taken an soaked towel and an iron to it. Heats up the glue and she just peels off with very little residue.

stormin94

At the detail shop today, I spent a couple hours today removing decals from a corporate car. I used some glass cleaner, a razor blade, and a heat gun.

I used the heat gun to soften the glue on the back of the stickers, and to warm my hands, it was pretty chilly out.

I used the razor blade to get an edge of the sticker up, so I could just pull the rest off by hand.

I used glass cleaner to lube the razor blade to make it slide easier.

As for the residue left behind, we use a special solvent, but for those of you who do not have the luxury of having a detail shop at your disposal, I would recommend getting a towel( a shop towel of course) and some carb cleaner, and spraying a small amount on the rag, and then rubbing the adhesive. It will come right up, and since the clear coat on a car is VERY protective, it will not harm your paint as long as you use it sparingly. A little bit of carb cleaner and light rubbing is a helluva lot better for your paint than soap and HARD scrubbing. DO NOT USE AJAX ON PAINT. As for claying the car afterward, most people are under the false impression that they should clay the car whenever they wash it, or touch it. FALSE, you should save your self the extra work, and only clay your car a couple times a year MAX. Same with buffing your car, buffing too much will damage your clearcoat. I doubt that you can "overclay" a car, but it is quite a bit of extra work, and it's really not worth it to do over and over again, and that's coming from someone who gets paid to do that.

scrid

Man that razor blade talk is scary.
Use the hair dryer and keep heating areas just ahead of your peeling progress to preheat them. Be patient and try to get it off in one big hunk. Use the wd-40 to remove the residual goo, then rubbing alcohol to knock the wd-40 down. Works great.

infiltrator

my passengers side stripes are chipping. its like only the top is chipping off. under the top theres still white (like a base layer stripe). i think thats confusing lol i will have to take some pictures.

im subscribing because once there comes a time that i need to take it off, ill be thankful.

my truck is always nice and waxed (i wax it twice a month)... :]
i love my 4runner

scrid

Sounds like the sun has crystalized the glue under the decal.
Have seen that before. It's harder to remove it, however sometime you can cut strips of paper towel a little wider then the decal, tape them just above it so the paper towel covers the decal, saturate the paper towel with wd-40 and pat it down over the decal so it has time to soak in. keep spraying it once in a while. I have had good luck with that tactic loosening sun cooked decals.

infiltrator

yeah, i guess thats what i get for living in southern california desert.
last summer was death!!! i had no a/c, it was 115 degrees outisde, my tranny fluid cooked, and my decals baked.

ill try some remidies on here. i dont wanna do it untill it gets that bad (which i could see happening in a couple months..)

i like that idea of paper towels. i will try it.
i saw a white runner (my age too!) and it had no stripes. it looked pretty good!

scrid

Yeah I went camping with some friends at a not- nearby lake in Nebraska for 7 days when temps for 3 days were 115. The lake water was like warm bath water, even the wind was hot! Walking on the sand barefoot mid-day was not an option! Drank allot of beer though!
I remember we dug a hole in the sand and drained some cold cooler water in it to soak our feet in and cool off.


I like them without the stripes on them.

infiltrator

yeah, i agree. i will do this, but in a later date. so ill try the wd40 and maybe some gas lol. i have an old school id card so ill try it.

lets hope for the best.
ill take pics and see if it does anything.

jmcbmx

i had great luck with the 3m pinstripe wheel remover thing i took the graphics off the bed on my truck. no scratches looked super clean, except the paint was shinier underneath. lol
http://www.detailgear.com/index.asp?...ROD&ProdID=200
theres a link to one... in case

infiltrator

30 bucks. damn. hello, credit card :]

James Dean

Removal of decals varies based on condition of striping on the vehicle. In general the newer the decal the easier they are to remove and the least amount of image left behind. Experience is really the only way to assess the best way to remove a stripe, if even possible. Here are some suggestions though.

If a stripe is still soft, pliable and not dried out, removal can be done with a heat gun and some pulling. Gently warm the area ahead of you and pull on the stripe with and shallow stretching motion. Do not pull out and away from the vehicle (such as at a 90 degree angle) for this will leave behind more glue for you to clean off. After stripe is removed use a solvent such as Xylol or Xylene which can be found at most hardware stores. Be careful however, this usually won't hurt factory paint, but it might damage repaints. Test an area first. If the rag drags on the paint or starts to leave marks, use a milder solvent. Soak the glue area till it softens with a solvent wet rag. Rub glue to remove. Repeat till glue is gone. A vinyl squeegee may help to scrape or wipe softened glue off, but use extreme caution.

If stripe is dry and or cracked, a vinyl and adhesive removal tool, such as the 2 versions by 3M, will be needed. They can be used by a do it yourselfer, but is better left to a professional at a stripe specialty facility such as Auto Trim Design. These methods can quickly damage paint (especially older or repaints) if not familiar with there effects. After stripe and glue is removed with removal wheels, there will be some glue residue that will need to be cleaned in the same manner listed above. Older stripe however will leave a scar in the paint that will either need to be recovered or repainted. Adding a little rubbing compound to your final cleaning rag will help diminish the scar and equalize the difference from the exposed paint and the stripe covered paint.

Most importantly, be careful, use gloves with any solvents and work in a well ventilated area. Never use a razor blade of any kind to remove stripes or decals. They can leave nasty gouges and cuts in both you and your paint.