Removing stickers from privacy film

[Waggunteeduen]

I’ve just bought a 1994 Chrysler Voyager (Plymouth Voyager in the US ?) to use as a beater and have a few problems which I need some help with. One of the previous owners has placed various stickers on the windows which have “privacy film� tinted coating, does anyone have any tips on how to remove them without damaging the coating. The film has already been scratched in several places so any tips on repairing the existing damage, if it’s possible to repair it, would be appreciated.



I’ll have to see if I can take some pictures of it tomorrow, you wouldn’t believe the state of this thing, it’s 8 years old and I honestly don’t think anyone has ever washed it before. I’ve spent 7 hours tonight trying to get the carpet back to the original grey colour, it had turned brown with contrasting highlights of yellow and a vibrant orange.

[Brad B]

Are the stickers plastic or paper based? Trouble is, most solvents that will remove the sticker adhesive will remove the film adhesive as well.



If the sticker is paper based you can soak with a sponge and it will slowly swell and seperate from the film.



Do a test this way first. Next, soak in a NON-AMMONIA glass cleaner. Do not scrub hard.



Worst case, a new film application is not terribly expensive and will give the car a fresh look, especially since you look through it every day.



Good luck.

[Waggunteeduen]

Brad,



Unfortunately they are plastic based and anything I would normally use when removing stickers is going to cause damage. The only thing which I thought might be worth a try is to gently heat the area with a hair dryer and hope that the sticker gives way before the tinted film.



Unfortunately as this bodyshape Voyager was never sold in the UK the dealers won`t help. Going to a decent independent company is quite expensive over here as tinting is very uncommon, we don`t have enough sun for most people to worry about it. :)



I knew I was making a mistake buying something as a beater, I had promised myself that I was just going to get it home, park it in the garage and just leave it without any thorough cleaning. It was in there for nearly an hour before the urge was just too strong and I was compelled to begin detailing.:D

[Lowejackson]

<strong class=`bbc`>It was in there for nearly an hour before the urge was just too strong and I was compelled to begin detailing[/b]

And that how we all start ;) very soon you will be washing the car at midnight and cleaning the wheels at 6.00am :up

I bought my Alfa as a old beaten up car, but I try my best to keep it looking good, the paintwork is poor and cannot be compared to many of the cars on this forum, but that is ok and does not worry me.

I would try using a hairdryer on the lowest heat setting.

Steven

[Waggunteeduen]

Addiction is a terrible thing.



I tried the hair dryer trick and it worked on two of the three stickers. When I came to do the last one I was at first puzzled as to why I couldn`t seem to feel any clear ridge at the edge of the transparency, I could see it just couldn`t feel it. After a few seconds I realised that some A*****e has applied the tint over the top of the sticker, they`ve peeled half of it off but just couldn`t be bothered to do the job properly.......must have been done by a dealer. AAAAARRGGHHH. Looks like I`m now stuck with displaying half a German road tax sticker.



At least the black paintwork polished up to a reasonable gloss, it actually looked like a matt black finish before I used some Autoglym SRP on it.

[Brad B]

I didn`t think of a hairdryer. Excellent idea! Best of luck!:xyxthumbs