decal stripes

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Joined
Dec 24, 2010
Messages
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Location
Germany
My Car
71 Mach1 Cleveland 2V
Hi Guys,

after a partial paint job on my Mach1, I want to put a complete new set of stripes on my car.

My question is now, what is the best way to remove the old ones, I tried it with a heat blower but the stripe comes only in very little pieces of.

Thanks

 
Mark ,

I heat blower should work fine , heat it a little bit more.

But not too much to damage the paint.

Some stripes are hard to remove , if it only comes off in little pieces i know what you have to do the next couple of weekends.

JB

 
Are these the original stripes on the car, or have they been replaced at one time?

Old vinyl, and the adhesive, turns very brittle and dry with age and is notoriously hard to remove.

I hardly ever use a "heat gun" for removal. I have a 1200W compact hair dryer that works fine without burning or stripping the paint or bubbling filler, etc. With the dryer, the air is not hot enough to burn your hands, either. You can work in the airstream easier while keeping an even heat on the decaled area. Definitely do the work in a heated garage (this time of year).

Also refrain from using a scraper of any kind if possible. It WILL cause more damage than you bargained for. I will use a DULL, UNDAMAGED single sided razor scraper JUST to get the lift started, then keep the heat source just in front of the stripe as not to "melt" the "string" of vinyl and break it. Pulling the vinyl this way will remove the adhesive on the vinyl in most cases. If you scrape, the adhesive will tend to stay on the substrate (paint), causing more work.

It takes practice and a lot of patience.

Follow up the adhesive removal with a WET soaked rag in mineral spirits. Work small areas at a time. A damp rag won't do. I will then use the same dull razor or plastic scraper on the swelled up "jelly like" adhesive. Yes, it will be messy, and usually require removal in layers.

Good luck, and work SLOWLY.

 
Yes, good product.

There are 2 versions, a "solid" wheel (shown) and a "flapper" wheel version. The flapper style uses layers of very thin eraser material, stacked on the mandrel. It is VERY sensitive to the RPM of the tool used. Too fast, it will fly apart, or too slow will simply not make enough friction to do any good.

Eye/face protection is a necessity.

 
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