I finally found the perfect decal remover. Its the 3M Wax and adhesive remover. I got it from Kragen Auto parts. Probably found in any other above average auto shop. My buddy and I used a blowdryer and removed the decals off of my 91 4runner (those stripes on sides).That didnt take long. It was the adhesive that took forever. Taking section by section off about 45 minutes each. For a total of i guess 6 hours (spread out over a week). Pure elbow grease, blisters on hands. The outcome is great. The 4runner never looked sharper and it even feels like I got little more hp. I guess there was no easy way to do it, as posted on previous posts in the past. After calling several auto body shops in this area, I decided to do it myself.
P.S. I will follow up with pics, Just recently lost my digital cam.

 

i tried $20 worth of worthless products. I finally got a $3 bottle of Goo Gone and hell yeah. That stuff works very good.

 

The best adhesive remover I've used is just 90% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). Pick it up from any drug store. Get that and some cotton balls, and the adhesive will come off quite quickly with a little elbow grease. Maybe use paper towels for bigger applications. Having it hot with the blow dryer is important too, it really expedites the process. Plus when you (slowly!) peel the sticker off when it's hot, more of the adhesive will stick to the sticker instead of the car, so then you have less to clean off in the first place. I do have a question though for you guys. Once you remove a decal or sticker, you can clean off all the adhesive from the car and the back of the sticker, but what do you use if you want to re-use the sticker? I took off some decals yesterday but I want to "re-adhesify" them and get rid of them. I mean I could use spray-on adhesive, but that would be messy. Anyone have some experience with this?

Zach

 

Us rich guys throw them out and get new.

I have never attempted this, since when removing a sticker that has good adhesive in the first place, the sticker typically distorts when removing it. Even if you successful in your "readhesivication", I don't think it would lay right.

Just my

 

I agree. I'm sold on the Goo Gone. It used to take me hours to get rid of the excess glue. Now it only takes seconds.

 

I dun wanna throw them away! They're good decals! I cleaned all the adhesive off of the back of them, i just need like a sheet of adhesive or something and then I can cut the adhesive part out to the shape of the decal and it would be as good as new. I just have no clue where to find it, or if something like that is even produced.

Zach

 

3M makes a film you buy by the roll that is used to mount artwork - I think it was called "drymount". It was on a 3" diameter core and was about 12" wide by ?? feet long. You had to burnish the subject to a sheet of this adhesive, remove the carrier and stick it where you'd like. Not sure if it's still made - I used to use it all the time about 8 years ago. I was definitely a 3M product though, I still have a couple of the burnishers that say 3M on them.

 

I borrowed a heat gun from work when I pulled off my decals, and I had very little adhesive to remove, 99% of it came off with the decal.

I recommend "Goof off", it's in a bright yellow and red little can, at Wal-mart and home stores, it makes adhesive come right off, and I saw a friend use it to remove gum that had got mashed into a carpet, worked like a champ.

The thing that impressed me most is that my son got ahold of a red Sharpie permenant marker, and had scribbled all over my precious recliner. The "Goof off" worked so well that you can't even tell it ever happened.

 

3m is the only product that will not damage your paint, i recomend it to anyone, it was all we used in the body shop. i just had a friend not listen to me about this, goof off damaged his paint. i personally had goo gone damage the paint on my dads 89 p/u when i was 16 removing the classic swoosh on 89's.

my friend ended up using acetone to remove the adhesive after the goof off damaged the paint, if you use it very carefully (use just enough on a rag so it evaporates almost instantly) it actually works damn good.

but nothing is as safe and works as well as 3m, there is a reason you will find it in any body shop accross the country. its worth the money to know you will not damage your paint. good luck to those who still have peeling to do, it sure is a pita.

 

I've been thinking about taking the stripes off my 91 4runner, and this is an informative thread on products, but what do you guys think about the finished job? Does it look a lot better naked? Is it worth the time, work, and risk of damaging your finish. or having a fade line? I would think that after a dozen years the paint may have faded some around the stripe. No problem?- and are you happy with the new look. One more question- if you didn't like the decal enough to spend the time taking it off, why do you want to reuse it? Just curious.

 

Mines been naked for about 5 years.. Dont' be afraid to embrace your naked body! Let your freak flag fly!!!!

 

Cool. I'm gonna do it.