Cheesy Decal Removal

Hey all, my fiance bought her first brand spankin new car last night, A 2003 Mustang (hell of a lot better than the kia pos she was considering) Anyway it's a really nice car nothing extrememly fancy but very nice in and out. THe only problem that she has with it is a fairly cheesy decal of horses running along the bottom of the door. I was wondering if anyone has some suggestions of how to remove these without leaving a bunch of sticky crap and of course without damaging the finish. THanks for the help!

Later
CP

 

[JDraper]

Use a hairdryer to heat it up so it peels easily, and then use mineral spirits or Goo Gone to remove any sticky stuff leftover. Mineral spirits don't affect automotive paint. I've used it to remove the yellow road centerline paint off my mother-in-law's X and it didn't touch the vehicle finish, but completely removed the road paint (and tar too)

 

[CodePoet]

Hey thanks! I didn't want to mess up her new car.....i'd be hearing about that until I die haha

Thanks
CP

 

[viejofeo]

The same cuestion

Hello i have the same cuestion, please help us

 

[viejofeo]

what is "mineral Spirits" ?

 

[JDraper]

Mineral Spirits is home paint thinner. It works on oil based paints and adhesives, but does not touch enamels or automotive clearcoats.

 

[X~FACTOR]

Originally posted by CodePoet
my fiance bought her first brand spankin new car last night, A 2003 Mustang

Is it a V-6?

 

[aldive]

Originally posted by JDraper
Mineral Spirits is home paint thinner. It works on oil based paints and adhesives, but does not touch enamels or automotive clearcoats.

You can get it at Home Depot, hardware stores, or paint stores.

 

[frickea86]

um i agree with the paint thinner, it works good, just don't use goo gone, that does damage the finish. We tried it for taking the adheasive tape off my grandfathers truck and it took the clear coat of the side panels were it touched. just to warn u all...laterz

adam

 

[CodePoet]

Yeah unfortunatly it is a v-6....I was drooling over the svt next to it
Even with the v-6 though it sounds pretty good. I'm sure that if she/we could afford it I probably could have convinced her to get the v-8...but she's on a teachers salary. I really like it though...the interior is really finished nicely. It looks really good and according to her it drives great. It was fun watching her grin from ear to ear when she got in it for the first time and drove off, it's her first new car, and first car that would be better off in a compactor or at the bottom of a steep cliff! Anyway i'm really impressed by it, it's really quite nice, but honestly i've always been impressed with how well ford's have been styled.
But I figure if she wants alittle more guts I could liven it up by putting on an intake, chip, etc.

Later
CP

 

[X~FACTOR]

Woman + Mustang = V6. It's just one of the facts of life, man.

 

[JDraper]

Not all of 'em. My wife wants her next car to be a '65 or '66 Mustang Convertible V-8 with a stick shift.

 

[eworx]

we have always used WD-40 to take the adhesive off and then wash and a real good waxing.

 

[burnin_up]

i have no idea what it is called, but i used this thing that looks like a giant gum eraser, put it on an air wrench and it rubbed off the very same decals on my buddies 01 GT. they are some pretty ugly stickers. If I think of the name, Ill let you know. No damage to clear coat, smells a little funny, but after a little was looked brand new. The paint guy we went to recommended it, and my buddy bought one from him.

 

[burnin_up]

found it! very good tool, easy to use--

http://www.goodspeedmotoring.com/su...=4&get_subcategory=Decal and Adhesive Remover

here too--

http://www.amghummer.com/Maintenance/DecalRemove/DecalRemoval.htm

 

[Premier]

Just heat it and peel it off. For gunk left on use WD-40 on a rag. Not that difficult.

 

[Bronco_bill]

I install and remove graphics for a living you the best way to remove is to use a propane plumbing torch heat the decal up, use the edge of a snap knife to lift the edge peal the decal off, then use xylene to remove any residue. It will take along time for the chem to do anything to the paint so when you are done go over the area with a wet rag. You can buy the chem at Home Depot. Depending on how long the decal has been there you may have a slight shadow after removal. I would use a little polishing compund to try and blend in. Good luck!!!

 

[viejofeo]

I peel my decals with White Gasoline (Fuel), next i polished the paint with car wax, good results

 

[snowburns]

WD-40, that's how i got my pinstripes off my X... and it looks clean. i just started peeling it with my fingernail (actually, my sisters friend was over and did over half the car for me) and it came right off, went over the residue with WD-40 and it worked nicely.