Removing Decals

[DH – 99/4/9] Use hairdryer, peel slowly. It will probably leave reside, so you will probably have to get some type of adhesive remover at your local hardware store and some a cloth to get it off.

[JF – 99/4/10] If you want a product that is safe to use even on cured paint try 3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner. It has many other uses including safely removing road tar and so on. You can order it from Griot’s at 800-345-5789 and ask for item No. 15900.

[MFA – 99/4/13] Applique vinyl letters can be easily removed in three manners… just picking them off – which requires patience and a lot of time, or by using a solvent or heat. Just pulling the letters up (a razor blade helps) is a great way to go, but it can be (depending on the age and condition of the vinyl and adhesive) a time-consuming and patience robbing process. If you’re like me and short on paitience, try one of these methods:

1) Solvent: there is only one viable choice – 3M adhesive remover. It’s a perfect solvent for the adhesive used inthe vinyl industry… use the remover in conjunction with a razor blade – the letters (and any glue residue) will be gone in no time. PS. Try to keep the solvent away from your paint.

2) Heat: Well, if you absolutely can’t find any 3M Adhesive Remover, then you can resort to heat from a hair dryer… this will soften the vinyl and adhesive and you’ll be able to remove the graphics leaving (hopefully) relatively little adhesive behind. Any remining adhesive can be picked up using an amonia based-cleaner (Windex) and a razor blade, but I’d reccommend the ‘Solvent’ route first. PS. Be careful to not subject a small area of a cold qindshield to spot heat.. Thermal stresses can be murder on glass. Also – don’t use a paint gun.. a normal hair dryer will work just fine.

[BM – 98/9/23] A while back, I retired my wife’s commuter, my little GMC Syclone, and bought her a new Lexus Sports Utility Vehicle. It had a large piece of plastic with the name going accross the back door. In addition, there were several logos on it that I wanted to replace with Gold plated ones.

I used the 3M adhesive remover on it, and the stuff is really effective. When I ever get around to taking the words Acura out of the center tailight display, this is the stuff I will soak the adhesive in to pry the two pieces apart. It does not harm the paint… you just have to be patient to wait for the solvent to melt the adhesive.