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Removing vinyl stripes from the car Login/Join 
Caught in a loop
posted
ARGH. What a pain in the ass. The shop I contacted wanted $225 (which i thought/still think is a fair price) and to have the car for 2 days (which I thought was fairly reasonable at the time but couldn't swing because I don't have another car). Instead I did it myself.

I spent collectively about 12 hours in the garage this weekend removing the stripes from the Mustang.

The timeline:

Saturday: First I tried solvents, and left a huge mess of adhesive that got left behind requiring a deft hand and a razor blade. I still have spots where I've got glue left over, and where I have to fix the clear coat.

Then I went to O'Reillys and found out they had a 3M stripe remover wheel, which is according to the internet the best thing since sliced bread and could solve all my ills and remove the adhesive. Nope - it made a mess out of parts of the hood where it tore off all of the vinyl but left all of the adhesive behind, and if it did anything to the adhesive on the trunk lid it just moved it around. I stopped when it became obvious that it wasn't working like I wanted. (I ended up returning it for a full refund Sunday.)

All told, by this point I was about 7 hours into the project.

Finally I got wise and tried using an old hair dryer to soften the adhesive, and a credit card to peel the edges. I I did the rest of the hood and the whole roof in another hour by comparison.

Sunday: I removed the stripes on the front bumper in about a half hour. The rest of the day was spent removing adhesive from the hood, cleaning up the trunk lid, and buffing/polishing. Color/clear coat correction is where the rest of the day went, and I'm still not quite finished there. I still have to polish the roof and front bumper, and finish removing the adhesive from the hood. I also have to finish sanding the trunk lid smooth and buffing it out.

Overall I like the result, but it was hard earned. At least the exposed paint didn't oxidize enough for it to become an issue.


"In order to understand recursion, you must first learn the principle of recursion."
 
Posts: 3349 | Location: Memphis, TN | Registered: August 23, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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adhesive? --- WD-40.
 
Posts: 2538 | Location: KY | Registered: October 20, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
No, not like
Bill Clinton
Picture of BigSwede
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Ja, those 3M wheels work great on pin stripes. Sounds like a PITA



 
Posts: 5301 | Location: GA | Registered: September 23, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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were these aftermarket stripes?
 
Posts: 5405 | Registered: April 08, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Caught in a loop
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Yup, put them on right around May/June of 2013, about 7-8 months after I got the car. Supposedly they were 3M stripes, but who knows. Professionally installed, though.

These were 10" racing stripes.


"In order to understand recursion, you must first learn the principle of recursion."
 
Posts: 3349 | Location: Memphis, TN | Registered: August 23, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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It does sound like they were the good stuff since they were so hard to remove.
I read about a trick for getting window tint off by using a clothes steamer. I wonder if it could work on stripes/decals.
 
Posts: 5405 | Registered: April 08, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Caught in a loop
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I didn't think about that; I know that while the edges got pretty chipped and they turned pretty much from gloss white to matte, overall the stripes held up pretty great for how long they've been on the car.

I don't know about steam, but I'm betting that heat in general is the key here. I ended up using the hair dryer to heat and soften the adhesive, and the corner of the credit card to catch the edges of the stripe until I had enough raised that I could grab it with my fingertips and pull. The only places this technique left adhesive were where I had to work especially hard to get a purchase.


"In order to understand recursion, you must first learn the principle of recursion."
 
Posts: 3349 | Location: Memphis, TN | Registered: August 23, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of dkjbama
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For future reference. Careful use of heat gun (not a hair dryer) to remove the vinyl. Care must be taken to avoid overheating the paint or your fingers. Get the vinyl hot enough, it will come off easily in large pieces just using your fingers.

To remove the glue, lighter fluid on lint-free blue Scott's shop towels (not paper towels). Wash the area with dawn to remove the oil from the lighter fluid and then buff to blend (if necessary) and apply fresh wax.
 
Posts: 775 | Location: NW Alabama | Registered: January 23, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Caught in a loop
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Good to know. I'll add WD40 and lighter fluid to my list to try when I get back at it.

I chose the hair dryer for 2 reasons:

1) I was under the impression that a heat gun gets hotter than a hair dryer. I was hoping to (and apparently did) hit a "sweet spot" where the vinyl gets hot enough to release, and the paint doesn't get cooked (of course, proper care was taken to ensure it didn't stay still for too long).

2) I have a hair dryer, while a heat gun would have necessitated a trip to Harbor Freight.


"In order to understand recursion, you must first learn the principle of recursion."
 
Posts: 3349 | Location: Memphis, TN | Registered: August 23, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Spread the Disease
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Heat and GooGone has worked for me in the past.


________________________________________

-- Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. --
 
Posts: 17244 | Location: New Mexico | Registered: October 14, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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The trick to removing stripes is to pull them lengthways. Glue sticks if you pull it straight up but will unstick itself if you pull it horizontally. You still would have to remove some of the remaining adhesive but depending on the particular stripe a lot of it will adhere to the stripe itself. On older brittle pinstripes the wheel is usually the best, fastest way to go but creates a bit of a mess of it's own that must be cleaned up. Old Dried up stripes are going to be a PITA any way you look at them.

- I work in a bodyshop. :-)


Remember, this is all supposed to be for fun...................
 
Posts: 4123 | Registered: April 06, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Rumors of my death
are greatly exaggerated
Picture of coloradohunter44
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We learned about using WD-40 when removing old self stick floor tiles. It was a PITA, but it worked. Nothing else would.



"Someday I hope to be half the man my bird-dog thinks I am."

FBLM LGB!
 
Posts: 10895 | Location: Commirado | Registered: July 23, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
A Grateful American
Picture of sigmonkey
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Time for new contacts.

I thought the title said "cat", and I'm thinking as I click; "What has the Vulrath got himself into now?"




"the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב!
 
Posts: 43810 | Location: ...... I am thrice divorced, and I live in a van DOWN BY THE RIVER!!! (in Arkansas) | Registered: December 20, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Green Mountain Boy
Picture of Jus228
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quote:
Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Time for new contacts.

I thought the title said "cat", and I'm thinking as I click; "What has the Vulrath got himself into now?"


Taking vinyl stripes off a cat sounds painful LOL Big Grin


!~God Bless the U.S. Military~!

If the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off

Light travels faster than sound, this is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak
 
Posts: 5563 | Location: Vermont | Registered: March 02, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ammoholic
Picture of Skins2881
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quote:
Originally posted by flesheatingvirus:
Heat and GooGone has worked for me in the past.


Like a charm.



Jesse

Sic Semper Tyrannis
 
Posts: 20756 | Location: Loudoun County, Virginia | Registered: December 27, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
A Grateful American
Picture of sigmonkey
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quote:
Originally posted by Jus228:...

Taking vinyl stripes off a cat sounds painful LOL Big Grin


Yep.

quote:
Originally posted by flesheatingvirus:
Heat and GooGone has worked for me in the past.


...and if the cat's name is "Goo", it's very effective.




"the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב!
 
Posts: 43810 | Location: ...... I am thrice divorced, and I live in a van DOWN BY THE RIVER!!! (in Arkansas) | Registered: December 20, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ammoholic
Picture of Skins2881
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Jus228:
quote:
Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Time for new contacts.

I thought the title said "cat", and I'm thinking as I click; "What has the Vulrath got himself into now?"


Taking vinyl stripes off a cat sounds painful LOL Big Grin


Go ahead and try it, I dare you.




Jesse

Sic Semper Tyrannis
 
Posts: 20756 | Location: Loudoun County, Virginia | Registered: December 27, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
A Grateful American
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I never clean a loaded skunk.




"the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב!
 
Posts: 43810 | Location: ...... I am thrice divorced, and I live in a van DOWN BY THE RIVER!!! (in Arkansas) | Registered: December 20, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Three Generations
of Service
Picture of PHPaul
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quote:
Originally posted by sigmonkey:
I never clean a loaded skunk.


And Rule 1 applies to skunks at LEAST as well as it applies to firearms.




Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.
 
Posts: 15181 | Location: Downeast Maine | Registered: March 10, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
A Grateful American
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Yep.

And never clean a firearm loaded.




"the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב!
 
Posts: 43810 | Location: ...... I am thrice divorced, and I live in a van DOWN BY THE RIVER!!! (in Arkansas) | Registered: December 20, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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