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SON1C
06-14-2012, 07:54 PM
http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab134/Elias101a/Drews%20Detailing/5f0a2353.jpg
http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab134/Elias101a/Drews%20Detailing/63f78472.jpg
not my stang

how can I go about removing these, they've been on for several years should I expect any damage done under them? I've installed a decent amount of vinyl but never removed

dad07
06-14-2012, 08:17 PM
A heat gun, and patience will remove them. then some 3m adhesive remover to get rid of the residue.

compound and polish I recomend megs 105/205 then a lsp of choice.

take your time and heat the vinyl not the paint, just a little at a time.

Good luck! and let us know how things go.

SON1C
06-14-2012, 08:36 PM
yeah I have 105/205/po85 whats a rough estimate for the time it'd take to remove them (not residue or polishing) just removing them

SON1C
06-14-2012, 08:39 PM
what do i use to start getting it peeled off?

BlueZero
06-14-2012, 09:00 PM
I'm not a pro but have removed a few decals. Heat gun works but what I also like is a nice sunny warm day. Park the car in the sun for a few hours if you can. It gives it a nice even heat to loosen up the adhesive. If you use a heat gun for some of it just be careful not to get anything too hot. I typically get it started with a plastic razor blade or even just my finger nail. Start at a corner as you should be able to get under it easier. Then just start pulling it up. Go slow and keep even pressure as close to where it is peeling up as you can. This will help the decal come off and not rip. It's hard to say how much time. I've had decals on the same car but different sides come off totally different. The one just pealed right off leaving just a few small spots of adhesive and the other side almost none of the adhesive pealed up with it. I haven't done enough to know if it was something I did or didn't do or just luck. For the residue I like using 3M adhesive remover, comes in a red and white spray can. Just follow the directions and follow the dwell time. Hope I've helped!

Cman8
06-14-2012, 10:32 PM
Heat gun, and patience. I used some goo gone for removing traces of residue. Then did the Wolfgang trio. Came out good but I'm almost sure that depending on how long they have been on you will see faint traces of the vinyl from sun wear. On my MINI it was barely noticeable but alas I liked it better with the stripes so I put a fresh pair.

SeaJay's
06-15-2012, 03:49 PM
I'm not a pro but have removed a few decals. Heat gun works but what I also like is a nice sunny warm day. Park the car in the sun for a few hours if you can. It gives it a nice even heat to loosen up the adhesive. If you use a heat gun for some of it just be careful not to get anything too hot. I typically get it started with a plastic razor blade or even just my finger nail. Start at a corner as you should be able to get under it easier. Then just start pulling it up. Go slow and keep even pressure as close to where it is peeling up as you can. This will help the decal come off and not rip. It's hard to say how much time. I've had decals on the same car but different sides come off totally different. The one just pealed right off leaving just a few small spots of adhesive and the other side almost none of the adhesive pealed up with it. I haven't done enough to know if it was something I did or didn't do or just luck. For the residue I like using 3M adhesive remover, comes in a red and white spray can. Just follow the directions and follow the dwell time. Hope I've helped!

I do decal removal at least a handful of times a year and this is good advice.

I've done some decals you can peel off with just the warmth of the sun and some you have to heat up to get them off.

Plastic razor blades work great and will help save you some time. Just have to be careful as you can scratch the paint with them. Either way your going to need to polish it to get rid of the ghosting.

Tarminator also works great for the adhesive that may be left.

There are so many different types of vinyl decals out there that it's hard to tell you time wise. Could be a quick couple hours or could be a days worth of work.


A heat gun, and patience will remove them. then some 3m adhesive remover to get rid of the residue.

compound and polish I recomend megs 105/205 then a lsp of choice.

take your time and heat the vinyl not the paint, just a little at a time.

Good luck! and let us know how things go.

Also good advice

Kevin Cullen
06-15-2012, 04:17 PM
These are pretty bid decals. I have used a decal eraser on the end of my 3/8 drill on other stuff. You can get the eraser from automotive paint supply shops. You will have to polish after the eraser but you will have to polish after the heat gun as well to blend the color differences.

SON1C
06-15-2012, 07:42 PM
estimated - what how much of difference in paint do you think you'll be able to see and will a 105/205/po85 erase the difference? (i know you can't say for sure but just from experience?

Divine Details
06-15-2012, 07:52 PM
When removing decals I like to use halogen lights to warm up the vinyl to make it easier to remove. Then use some tarmanator to remove the left over adhesive.


Chad@Divine Details

swanicyouth
06-15-2012, 09:17 PM
Maybe idle the car with the AC on in the sun to help warm the hood first???

Infinitiman
06-15-2012, 09:39 PM
I would use a heat gun, about a 8 inches away from the surface, you only heat a SMALL section at a time. When you see the area of vinyl change appearance( it is a small change, it looks more flexible) that is when you stop heating, I'm talking just a few seconds like 4-7 seconds at most. Here is a picture of myself removing my clear car bra.

http://img.tapatalk.com/328e1481-f06b-39fa.jpg

Another thing you can try is using 3M adhesive remover ( which is great at removing any left over adhesive) if you spray it on the vinyl it may?? soak through and ease the removal, that is just a guess.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

SeaJay's
06-16-2012, 07:08 AM
estimated - what how much of difference in paint do you think you'll be able to see and will a 105/205/po85 erase the difference? (i know you can't say for sure but just from experience?

That should definitely work.