Removing Pinstripe

[ffamousamos]

I have a black 2005 Cadillac CTS that I want to remove the pinstripe. You can feel that the pinstripe is above the paint, I believe it is a dealer installed pinstripe. the pinstripe has small cadillac logo on the front fender. I think the car would look alto better without it.



Thanks

[lamby]

heat gun with an adhesive remover, such as 3m or goo gone maybe. but its possible the paint may not match under the pinstripe, due to weathering and UV rays

[AeroCleanse]

I have a black 2005 Cadillac CTS that I want to remove the pinstripe. You can feel that the pinstripe is above the paint, I believe it is a dealer installed pinstripe. the pinstripe has small cadillac logo on the front fender. I think the car would look alto better without it.



Thanks



3M Pinstripe Removal Wheel (http://store.rightlook.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=147)

[VroooomCrash]

Why do dealers (especially domestic) insist on putting that garbage on cars? I could see it maybe back in the day, but now with all this "edge" styling, you already have a body line down the side of the car...



I`ve seen it done with the wheel and with the heat gun, both of them worked pretty well.

[BobD]

Are these painted on or decal stripes?



If they are painted on you can try wet sanding or a heavy polish/compound.



If they are sticker / adhesive just use a hair dryer to heat them up and start peeling them back. Any left over adhesive can be removed with a good adhesive remover.



I don`t recommend that pinstripe removal wheel. Just because we used to use them all of the time on boat trailer pinstripes when we would get a trailer in for repair or repaint. Most of the time it worked well but some times we`d burn the paint. It didn`t matter for us since it was a repaint anyway.

[byers ford]

I prefer the heat gun to the stripe removal wheel, less messy, but they do the job equally well.



I work at a dealer, and there are a few reasons why they put them on...

1.) The customer can order them on some vehicles.

2.) They can `enhance` the look or lines of the car; especially if the vehicle has been on the lot for a long time :)

3.) And I hate to say this but I have seen dealers, not mine, put them on to hide body damage. I only know this because we usually remove them if they look bad and in doing so discover the "hdden truth".

[imported_Jakerooni]

Heat gun and plastic razor blades. No need for any chemicals or adhesive removers etc etc.

[ffamousamos]

[quote name=`Danase`]Are these painted on or decal stripes?

If they are painted on you can try wet sanding or a heavy polish/compound.

QUOTE]



I believe they are decals because there is a tiny Cadillac emblem on the front fenders that runs with the stripe and is the same color of the stripe.

[XRL]

A lot of dealers like to put them on to add another $500 to the cost of a new car.

[Greg Nichols]

I have a customer wanting the same thing, I got people suggesting I do oven cleaner? What are the thoughts on this idea?



Cheers,

GREG

[craigdt]

Oven cleaner? If its anything like the oven cleaners I have used, its pretty caustic or agressive etc. Id be a bit wary of that..



I was going to suggest the hairdryer/plastic razor blade method.