Decal removal?

[OldBear]

Hey guys,

Need to pick your brains for a minute. Does anybody know how to remove a decal from a painted metal surface without screwing up the paint? I put a new battery in my old Duc today and had the tank propped up. Fuel leaked out:thumbdown:and messed up the warning decal on the back of the tank. No harm done really PROVIDED that I can get the rest of the $%$##! thing and the glue OFF. Any ideas or suggestions will be Greatly appreciated!! Thanks all!!.......Hm...maybe a guy could take the "Yamaha" decal off the back of the trunk...put an HD logo there and REALLY confuse the Harley dudes:innocent-emoticon:

[emtdouggood]

I have used a heat gun to warm the sticker and use a plastic scraper to take off the sticker.Use goo be gone for the left over glue.MEK will work but also be careful with that. Also if you need pait off. Such as graffiti or some one painted over paint such as a name . Easy-Off it works great but be careful.

Edited January 15, 2010 by emtdouggood

[99silver]

I use lighter fluid. Keep away from open flames though.

[jlh3rd]

also try wd-40....sometimes works

[LilBeaver]

To make sure you do not harm the paint, I would wash the surface with simple soap and water first (if you have not done so already) then use a degreaser (available from wal-mart or any autoparts store). Then, after using the degreaser, go ahead and wax/polish the tank (at least anything that the degreaser touched)

 

The heat gun is fine as long as you do not get the plastic too hot.

 

The mentioned items may work, but, there is some potential to do harm to the finish on the painted surfaces if you do use those materials (except for maybe the 'goo be gone' or whatever that is called...).

 

**Source: Several years of family run body shop experience... But still just my

[Eck]

You can take a large gauze pad and spray WD-40 on it.

Soak it fairly good, then apply the gauze pad over the decal and cover the gauze pad with a larger piece of surran wrap...Apply black or red electrical tape around the edges of the srran wrap to hold it in place.

Let it set for about an hour or two and wa-la....the decal peels right off and the glue can be removed with ease..

 

However the heat gun would be quicker...but just the thought of a possible spark around the gas tank somewhat bothers me..

 

Also, if you can get a piece of fishing string under a corner of the decal you can pull the string in a "saw" like motion back and forth and saw the decal off.

se WD 40 to remove the remaining glue.

[OldBear]

Thanks Guys! This is exactly the information I need. I'm gonna start with WD-40 (since I've got it here already!). The decals mostly "gone", but I've got a good bit of glue left. Hopefully your ideas will solve that problem. Thanks again!!!

[dunvilsteev]

If all else fails, you can buy this stuff called Goo-B-Gone which is exactly for old adhesive removal from painted surfaces, up in Canada you can get it at Canadian Tire.

[Patrick46]

Goo-b-gone should be all you need.

 

you only use the fishing line thing for taking off tank badges and car/truck emblems.

[Condor]

I bought a 6x12 enclosed trailer that was covered with big decals, and after trying a lot of different methods I finally got them off. The only thing that worked was WD40 on a warm day in the sun. Not so much to directly remove the decal, but to lubricate the single edged razor blade as it pealed the decals off and left the paint unscathed. Heat guns were too hot. Goof off was too severe for the paint on the trailer. Steam was a waste. I'm still going to have to repaint the trailer, but the last side doesn't have any nicks in the paint surface.....