Removing Stickers

G

grandprixlar

New member
Anyone have experience removing stickers?

What technique/product has worked best?

Could you see the outline of the sticker?

This particular vehicle is a 99 Jeep, and it has the factory applied stickers (looks like a splash) along both sides of the vehicle.

This vehicle is four years old and my guess is that you will be able to tell where the stickers were.
 
I just hit the area with a heat gun and slowly pull off the sticker. If the car is 4 years old though, it may leave an outline if the paint around it has been affected by the sun. You will also have to use an adhesive remover on whatever residue is left.



The big thing in my area is debadging. I've done several cars now. Same deal, heat the area with a heat gun to soften the adhesive, then slowly pull off the emblem.
 
I have removed tons of stickers fron cars and motorcycles. I remove the stickers by warming them up(I personally never use a heat gun(( and never let my staff)) Ususlly letting them sit in the sun for awile does the trick or a hairdryer. Next i use Varsole (no idea how to spell it).or lacker thiner. This stuff is harsh but used with care it removes ANYTHING. Technically when Im in a hurry I don't even remove the stickers. I just soak them, let them sit for a minute and wipe them off with an old towel..



This stuff is very strong and should be used with caution. I have done a ton or sticker moving and have Never hurt the finish on any vehicle. I learned this years ago from a detailing shop I used to work for, then a few years ago I had stripes put on my car and the Viynl guy did the same thing.



You just have to wash the area good afterwards and use a little wax because it gets ripped off aswell.





>>>>>>>>>>>>>Clint
 
Sorry,,,,,,,,,, I should have mentioned that I always try and remove them first without using this stuff (like Scottwax minus the heat gun), and I use this method when time is a concern or if they are really stuck////





<><><><><><><><Clint
 
I use a hairdryer to heat them up and slowly peel off the paint. Any left over residue I soak w/ PRO-sol and it takes care of it. When I polish the vehicle any left over residue is removed.



You might leave a outline on the paint. I removed some stickers from my dark blue truck after two years and you cannot see an outline.



Compouding and Polishing the area will help reduce the outline (Get rid of oxidation on exposed paint) but that is about all you can do if you encounter an outline.
 
i will agree with the outline where the sun hit. I have an older tacoma, before they had the badges on the tailgate they had the vinyl stickers. I took them off, and i now have a "Phantom Toyota" because In the light u can still see where the paint color is lighter where the sticker was. So u can still read Toyota on the tailgate. Its kinda cool, its like a 2 tone paint
 
I use a steamer. This works better than anything i have ever tried. I will follow this up with solve-all to remove the remaining residue.
 
Auto Care USA: What type of steamer are you using?? I have a steam cleaner I use for engine compartments but I doubt its the same thing as you're referring to (or maybe there's just an attachment one can get?)
 
Roderigo said:
i will agree with the outline where the sun hit. I have an older tacoma, before they had the badges on the tailgate they had the vinyl stickers. I took them off, and i now have a "Phantom Toyota" because In the light u can still see where the paint color is lighter where the sticker was. So u can still read Toyota on the tailgate. Its kinda cool, its like a 2 tone paint
Click to expand...





Kinda like ghost flames :p



I saw a Tacoma tail gsate once where the person had taken off the letters. The paint matched, but there were soo man swirls the toyota could still be seen becasue of the amount of swirls.
 
Roderigo said:
i will agree with the outline where the sun hit. I have an older tacoma, before they had the badges on the tailgate they had the vinyl stickers. I took them off, and i now have a "Phantom Toyota" because In the light u can still see where the paint color is lighter where the sticker was. So u can still read Toyota on the tailgate. Its kinda cool, its like a 2 tone paint
Click to expand...



LOL, you could always tell people it is a custom paintjob. Ghost toyota letters :D



Shiny Lil Detlr said:
Auto Care USA: What type of steamer are you using?? I have a steam cleaner I use for engine compartments but I doubt its the same thing as you're referring to (or maybe there's just an attachment one can get?)
Click to expand...



What kind of steam cleaner do you use for engine compartments?
 
Scottwax said:
I just hit the area with a heat gun and slowly pull off the sticker. If the car is 4 years old though, it may leave an outline if the paint around it has been affected by the sun. You will also have to use an adhesive remover on whatever residue is left.



The big thing in my area is debadging. I've done several cars now. Same deal, heat the area with a heat gun to soften the adhesive, then slowly pull off the emblem.
Click to expand...



Little tip for debadging - hit it with the heat gun (or a hair dryer or even just some sunlight) and then run some dental floss behind it and you can easily remove it without doing any damage to the badge.
 
Intel, I actually just went and bought one of those $99 "Euro-Pro Ultra Steam Shark" units they sell at sears... seems to do quite well so far (although I haven't gotten to try it on any REALLY filthy engines quite yet..)



basically its the same thing as those you see marketed towards detailers for $1000 and up, atleast as far as output temp. and power/pressure. Only difference is it doesnt hold quite as much water in the boiler. :bounce
 
atldave said:
Little tip for debadging - hit it with the heat gun (or a hair dryer or even just some sunlight) and then run some dental floss behind it and you can easily remove it without doing any damage to the badge.
Click to expand...



Doh! I forgot to mention the dental floss. Stuff works great. Can't use the sun to heat the area this time of year though. That does work when it is 100 though!
 
Shinny it is a Robby vs 300. It is a great machine. Many steamers don't heat quite hot enough and to much water is disperssed. This machine does not do that. All steam, and it stays hot and the tank stays full for almost 3 hours of continous use.
 
I like to use 2 things.



first i try a blow dryer and heat up the sticker, i also soak it with stoners bug & tar remover. This works most of the time



It the above does not work, i also have a portable steamer that i use. i steam the sticker right off (most of the time)
 
There is a third method available to be used in situations where there is a lot of old cracked dried stickers. It is basically a large rubber material eraser from 3M products. It was designed for just this use. It looks like a 1inch thick, 6 inch round polishing disk. You can put it on either a drill or some type of rotary air tool. Has a standard bit to secure with the jaws of the tool. Whe dealing with old rotten decals the methods mentioned take a lot of time and smear the glue. This works just like using an eraser. You spin the disk and literally buff the stripe or decal off. The first time you use it scares the heck out of you as your positive you willruin the paint. It looks like it gets to hot and you'll see vapor from the decal as it is wiped away. Surprisingly it seems to work with out damage to the painted surface. We only use this when quick and easy solutions are not working. Most vinyl decals and stripes average about 5 years before they start to seriously fade and show the cracking. Once that happens it can be very frustrating attempting to peel it off one little chiop at a time. We used this rubber removal system on a 30 foot boat with very large dry rotted stipes the entire length and was able to buff them off in about 15 minutes per side. We finished with all our fingernails intact and no razor marks. The system leaves a small amount of adhesive behind which we remove using an adhesive remover such as new car solvent or 3M's adhesive remover. Please be aware that while thinner and other harsh chemicals may remove the glue or decals quickly they are truly damaging to the surface. Know that all paint is pourus and that even though you may wipe off the solvent quickly it can still penetrate the surface. The damage will begin to show normally up to six months later. The clear coat will begin to lose its luster and micro checking which looks like little X shaped cracks will begin to appear in the clear. Once that happens the clear has been permanently damaged and will deteriorate at an accelerated rate. Chareg enough money to take your time and do the job correctly. Do not use chemicals so strong you can wipe a decal off in minutes. Not if you car about the customer and return business. We charge $75.00 to $100.00 per side to do this right. Body shops charge up to $150.00 per side. You must also make the customer aware that if they did not put the decals on themselves or they are factory originals that there may be marks, cuts or paint that could peel off when you remove them . Especially true when the vehicle was repainted. Most body shops use the strip as the perfect place to stop painting so they do not have to blend into the other area. You can bet that most times the replacement stripe was put on before the paint was completely dry and you'll see paint lifting as you try to remove it. By making the customer aware I avoid any liability for unforseen problems. Quite often the customer knows things about repairs an such and can save you a lot of trouble. For 3M products try any body shop supply or paint supply outlet. That is the largest market for 3M automotive.

Tom
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top