how to remove decals from car body?

M

MYGT8A4RE

Founding Member

Oct 25, 2000

1,374

1

38

BRADENTON, FLA.

Jan 4, 2004

#1

• Jan 4, 2004

• #1

i have colored lettering decals in the embossed letters "mustang gt" on my sideskirts & rear bumper(93 gt). they have been there for several years now & are chipping away & faded. i purchased some new ones but am having trouble removing the old lettering decals. is there some sort of liquid i can put on the decals to soften them up w/o hurting my paint? any hints or tips on this subject would be appreciated!
thanx,

 

Poopie D

Member

Jan 4, 2004

72

3

8

British Columbia, Canada

Jan 4, 2004

#2

• Jan 4, 2004

• #2

you may wish to try "Goo Gone" or "Goof Off"

I would try Goo Gone first, as it is citrus based and should not harm the paint...I don't know for sure though

 

BullittStangV8

Founding Member

Oct 5, 2002

1,104

0

36

NJ

Jan 4, 2004

#3

• Jan 4, 2004

• #3

try a hair dryer or some type of heat. it shouldsoften up the decals.
Mike

 

A

aceman65

New Member

Sep 2, 2003

43

0

0

Bemidji, Mn.

Jan 4, 2004

#4

• Jan 4, 2004

• #4

Do Not Use Goof Off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

lxsteed

Founding Member

Aug 12, 2002

1,009

0

36

Melbourne

Jan 5, 2004

#5

• Jan 5, 2004

• #5

I bought a can of stuff at Advanced, its made for that kind of thing, decal remover. It worked great.

 

M

MYGT8A4RE

Founding Member

Oct 25, 2000

1,374

1

38

BRADENTON, FLA.

Jan 5, 2004

#6

• Jan 5, 2004

• #6

thanx for the replies, im going to try the hairdryer trick to see what happens(free) then move on to the "decal remover" stuff..............
thanx again!
-justin

 

marvinmycat

Founding Member

Feb 13, 2002

1,179

0

0

Buffalo, NY

Jan 6, 2004

#7

• Jan 6, 2004

• #7

gas.

 

0

01SLVRGT

New Member

Mar 14, 2003

201

0

0

Macon Georgia

Jan 9, 2004

#8

• Jan 9, 2004

• #8

3M makes a good adhesive remover. Try their stuff and a little heat from a hair dryer.

 

decoy562

New Member

Oct 9, 2003

1,526

0

0

Acworth, GA

Jan 9, 2004

#9

• Jan 9, 2004

• #9

You can even use WD40, it won't hurt the paint. I just peeled them off, then sprayed the WD40 on it to clean it off, then I washed and waxed the area.

 

Black 93 Fox

Active Member

Jun 1, 2003

1,995

0

49

Vancouver,Washington

Jan 10, 2004

#10

• Jan 10, 2004

• #10

decoy562 said:

You can even use WD40, it won't hurt the paint. I just peeled them off, then sprayed the WD40 on it to clean it off, then I washed and waxed the area.

Click to expand...

What he said.

 

M

MYGT8A4RE

Founding Member

Oct 25, 2000

1,374

1

38

BRADENTON, FLA.

Jan 12, 2004

#11

• Jan 12, 2004

• #11

yeah the problem is that the decals are brittle & wont just peel off. i wish it were that way you mentioned. heat was needed in my case to get the decals to start to peel......

-justin

 

MCRParts.com

Founding Sponsor

Mar 21, 2002

1,259

0

0

New Hampshire

Jan 13, 2004

#12

• Jan 13, 2004

• #12

MYGT8A4RE said:

yeah the problem is that the decals are brittle & wont just peel off. i wish it were that way you mentioned. heat was needed in my case to get the decals to start to peel......

-justin

Click to expand...

Yes use a heat gun to peel them off. Once you have them peeled off. Go to Autozone or CAP,Pep Boys etc. and buy some prep solv. its in the autobody isle.

This is what you use to take the adhesive off without damaging the paint. Once it is all off wash the area with a clean rag and liquid dish soap (car wash has waxes in it).

Dry the bumper then stick you new inserts on.

Hope this helps ya,

Tony

 

M

MYGT8A4RE

Founding Member

Oct 25, 2000

1,374

1

38

BRADENTON, FLA.

Jan 13, 2004

#13

• Jan 13, 2004

• #13

thanx tony,
i used my brothers heat gun & then some 3m product for removing decal adhesive the next day after starting this thread. worked great, have the new decals on & everything looks great!..i appreciate everyones responses!

-justin

 

white_pony

New Member

Jan 14, 2004

28

0

0

Dallas, TX

Jan 14, 2004

#14

• Jan 14, 2004

• #14

If they are the raised decals, you can take them off by using dental floss. Just slip it between the car and the decal and floss through the sticky foam backing. It worked for me on the stupid dealership decal. the rest of the adhesive just rolls up when you run your hand over it a few times. No chemicals needed.
Hope this helps

MYGT8A4RE said:

i have colored lettering decals in the embossed letters "mustang gt" on my sideskirts & rear bumper(93 gt). they have been there for several years now & are chipping away & faded. i purchased some new ones but am having trouble removing the old lettering decals. is there some sort of liquid i can put on the decals to soften them up w/o hurting my paint? any hints or tips on this subject would be appreciated!
thanx,

Click to expand...

 

A

austinGT

Founding Member

Apr 21, 2002

896

0

0

Austin, TX

Jan 15, 2004

#15

• Jan 15, 2004

• #15

Like others said, decal remover. Theres stuff out there to break up the "glue" type material. Just get one for autos or safe for paint.

 

M

MYGT8A4RE

Founding Member

Oct 25, 2000

1,374

1

38

BRADENTON, FLA.

Jan 15, 2004

#16

• Jan 15, 2004

• #16

i agree as i had great success with the decal adhesive remover. but unless youve had decals that have been on the car for several years its hard to see the hardest part is getting the old brittle stubborn decals themselves off, the adhesive is the easy part. i think some were misinterpreting what i was asking at the beginning. most were replying to great "adhesive" removers once the decals were gone, but it was trying to get the old decals removed first! when i was scratching away at my decals when i first started it seemed hopeless. they just chipped off tiny pieces at a time & were really stuck on there. plus being in the recessed lettering made it harder to access. the heat was the trick for actually removing the decals themselves. the heat softens the adhesive & makes the decal plyable once again. then the adhesive removal was easy with the right stuff. was a pain in the butt overall but i got er done!

-justin