Removing glued on letters from Ferrari?

[Carolina Girl]

Hello everyone. I am new here and have a "unique" problem.

My husband's uncle passed away and kindly left my husband his Ferrari.

He had recently added his name in white glued on letters just above the door on both sides of the car, as well as a metallic decal. :cry:

The letters are white and about 2" high, and appear to have been affixed one at a time with some kind of adhesive. (I can take a pic if need be.)

They are thicker and more raised than just the vinyl logo decals I have seen on commercial vehicles, if that makes sense.

I have been itching to get a hair dryer, tar remover, a butter knife, a Dremel, muriatic acid, etc. (just kidding!) and go to work on this because it is making me nuts, but I figured a better plan would be to come and ask the pros - since preserving the paint and finish are so important in this case.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

[Billy Baldone]

Pics would help, but if they are just stick on letters 99% of the time all you would need is a heat gun and a decent all purpose cleaner with a microfiber and then probably just polish the area that they were removed from.

[kevincwelch]

I would try the heat gun and dental floss first. Can add as needed some Tar-X or Tarminator to help dissolve any adhesive...at least before going to the butter knife and Dremel! After they are removed, you may need to do some spot correction, but how you would proceed with that depends upon the paint.

[DaveT435]

If he had just recently put them on the hair dryer may generate enough heat to get them off. Then maybe some 3 M adhesive remover, or goof off , or a similar product and a microfiber towel to get the red of the residue off.

[Mike lambert]

Depending on the type of paint, you may still have ghosting of the letters as the adhesive can etch the paint. Are you sure they are stick on and not painted? I ask because you say they are thicker. I am thinking something like gold leaf a on Fire Engines.

[Mike Phillips]

I'm with Dave,

Seems like the combination of loosening with Goo-Gone or Goof-Off first and then some rubbing with a microfiber towel would work.

If not... I would have to wonder what he used for glue? Hopefully not Superglue.

Also, a hair dry will soften NORMAL adhesives, the sticky type so you can rub it off.


Pictures? If you're unsure how to get them into this thread just e-mail them to me and I'll do it for you.


Mike.Phillips@Autogeek.net (Mike.Phillips@Autogeek.net)


What model of Ferrari?

:xyxthumbs:

[Carolina Girl]

Thank you all very much for the quick and thorough responses.

I am about 100% sure they are stick on, not painted, and I think he had it done professionally. He was not a DIY kinda guy, and they are all nicely even.

Mike, it's a Testarossa.

[.brian.]

When taking OEM nameplates off the trunk of my vehicles, I have always used a hair dryer and fishing line to carefully "saw" the letters off. Follow up with Goo-Gone to get rid of the adhesive left behind.

[RMM]

...
Mike, it's a Testarossa.

Are we talking about a 50's Testarossa or an 80's Testarossa?

[WaxMaster1]

Are we talking about a 50's Testarossa or an 80's Testarossa?


I'm thinking it's a Ford Fiesta instead of a Ferrari. Who sticks or glues letters on a Ferrari car door. I've never seen it.

[Toonces]

Another vote for 3M Adhesive Remover to soften the glue before attempting any mechanical means of removal.

A TR is a very nice bequeathal, especially right now-- they're probably at a value high for the time being. Wonderful GT cars with tons of torque at all engine speeds. They actually make great drivers but parts are very expensive, even by Ferrari standards. What year TR?

[Klasse Act]

I'm thinking it's a Ford Fiesta instead of a Ferrari. Who sticks or glues letters on a Ferrari car door. I've never seen it.

I was thinking the same thing but it could be one of those Fiero's.

Sorry OP, I guess more than one of us can't believe something like this could be done to one of Marenello's finest. Could you post a pic?

[kevincwelch]

Well, a quick search on YouTube reveals that people have done a lot dumber things with a Ferrari...

[Carolina Girl]

It worked! Thank you SO much. Everything came right off with the hair dryer, and then I used the 3m Adhesive Remover to get the little bit of ghosting that remained.

I was thinking of trying the same process on these dealership letters on my Porsche, but I thought I had better post a pic since these are different.

They are kind of "gel like" and seem to be stuck on there pretty well.

Suggestions?

[kevincwelch]

I've removed stickers and gel-like applications with the heat gun and a plastic razor. You can use dental floss or adhesive remover. All that stuff works.